It's not a commandment to love yourself

God's commandments do not include "Love Thyself." But, before you take it the wrong way, the point of this post is not to say you shouldn't love yourself. Just the opposite.


There are two great commandments that Christ mentions - First: to love the Lord God and Second: to love your neighbor. These two come from the law of Moses - primarily the Ten Commandments, and then in Leviticus. Here:

“I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:2-3)

“…thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.” (Lev. 19:18) It seems to me that He is assuming you love yourself, and let's be honest, for every person I can think of, the person they think of the most about is themselves - this doesn't mean they don't think about others, but even if it's negative, your focus is on yourself, and if you're reading this you don't hate yourself completely. You take care of yourself, you value your opinion of yourself, you value your opinion of the world's opinion of you, etc. 

Please note, though I won't actually talk much more about this, but this verse says in full: “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.”So, it shapes the context not only of how we should love others, but how we should love ourselves - not bearing a grudge, being offended, etc.

Ok. So what is my point? My point is that if we first love God, before anyone else (especially ourselves), we will become able to truly love ourselves and others. It is crucial, however, to first love God. Don't tell me you can't love God if you don't love yourself, I do not believe it. Loving God is the first step to truly healing, and to truly loving yourself. He is the one who shows you how. But if you put yourself first, you will miss out on truly, perfectly loving yourself and others. 

How do you love God? Remember Him. Listen to Him. Be grateful for Him. Talk to Him. And of course, love and serve those around you, remembering the eternal potential and worth of each soul. Hold on to your love for Him, let it soften your heart, let your love for others back in, and let Him heal you. 

Remember to love God first. That's all I have to say today.