Mark 12: 30-31 "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The argument for loving self goes, "how can you love your neighbor if you don't know how to love yourself?" Self-esteem and self-love have become huge money makers inside and outside of the church, which is teaching people how to love themselves. The problem is that this isn't biblical.
Mark 12 records that Jesus takes into account that we already love ourselves, and we need to focus that toward our neighbor. Why are there so many psychologists/psychiatrists? Because people love themselves. Even when someone says that they go see a psychologist because they hate themselves, the opposite is true or they wouldn't want to get better. All the things we may do to try and change focus on ourselves in the name of self-esteem and self-love take the focus away from God.
In Luke 9: 23-25 Jesus is quoted, "And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?'" Loving God with all your heart is removing yourself as the focus of your life, dying to your self, and following God's priorities. That is totally different than loving "self."
Romans 5:6-8 "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This is what makes Christ's sacrifice so incredible, we are evil and He still chose to redeem us.
Take a moment to ponder that. When you think you are a miserable wretch, you are right. Otherwise why would you need Christ's sacrifice? The problem is thinking we are worth something, and that is why Christ died for us. Sin has made man worth nothing. Putting Christ in the center of your life, and reflecting Christ, is what gives our lives meaning and worth.
How do we reflect Christ? Pray for discernment and leading by the Holy Spirit as you read your Bible. Then do what it says.
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