If I am to love my neighbor as myself, then I must first love myself. I use to think that 'loving myself' was simply making sure that I was always feeling good, or entertained, or never bored, and on and on.
But I now believe that Christian self-love is something different. As a Christian, I should do those things which are wholesome for me, whether they feel good or not. Bible reading. Sometimes, this undertaking can be quite boring. Especially if one is wading through some of the Pentateuch books.....say, Numbers, for instance.
But sometimes, I shy away from Bible reading because I erroneously think that it will bore me. But if I practice self-love, I will read a chapter from the Bible and think about what I just read. It would take all of 20 minutes. Kind of like eatings one's broccoli....or Brussel sprouts. (I actually love those two things, but pretend that it's a chore for me to eat them). I love myself, so I will take in the proper nourishment,
Self-love should spur me to pray. To converse with God. And self-love should cause me to want to fellowship with other's of like precious faith (like I'm doing here)......but also at Church.
I have discovered a thorn in my flesh. It doesn't manifest itself to the extent that I can detect it. Because I'm far too busy doing those things that are not NOT conducive to a deeper Spiritual life. I watch too much TV. I eat FAR too many sweets. When I wake up in the morning, I VERY frequently catch myself planning my day around my amusements and entertainment, instead of treating myself to things and activities that are conducive to building my relationship with Jesus.
It brings to mind the words of Jesus in Revelations: "return to your first love".
And John the Beloved said, in the epistles of John: "How can you say that you love God, Whom you cannot see.....when you don't even love your neighbor.....whom you can see" (my paraphrase).
I've always been plagued by a certain self-loathing. Don't know why, I ain't gonna blame my parents, that's for sure. But I just wanted to share this little treatise about PROPER self-love. If no-one has guessed it yet, I am preaching to my self. Sometimes I just need to write stuff out and then read it. Seems to help. As a Christian, my first goal is to love GOD with ALL of my heart, mind, soul, and strength. And my neighbor as myself.
When I am hungry, I waste no time in getting some food in the gut. When I'm thirsty, I waste no time in screwing the cap or an Ozarka bottled water (room temp). If I was going to close this little article with a prayer.....it would go something like this: "Dear God, please place a needy person before me every day." It would be very good for me. Anyway, just had this own my mind. Y'all have a great weekend.