Living Life Lessons :: LOVE YOURSELF! – Reaching Hurting Women Ministries

Some people think it’s wrong to love yourself. Aren’t we supposed to put others first? Are we being selfish when we love ourselves? Let’s talk about true love.

In the Living Life Lessons column I’m sharing various lessons God has taught me.

A couple of years ago I was introduced to a little book that has changed my life and continues to change the lives of those in my circle of influence.

This wonderfully powerful book is Loving Yourself for God’s Sake by Adolfo Quezada.

Don’t let its size (only 83 pages) or its simple message fool you; it is chocked full with nugget after nugget of wisdom. Reading it now for the third time, I can barely get through a paragraph before I must stop and meditate on another healing truth.

When under the influence of my addiction, I spent many years hurting myself and others around me, especially those I was supposed to love the most! I’m ashamed to think about the horrible things I did to my family and friends. But does that mean I didn’t really love them?

Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments: Do not commit adultery;do not murder;do not steal; do not covet; and whatever other commandment—all are summed up by this: Love your neighbor as yourself. ~ Romans 13:8-10

When we look at the scripture above we often focus on the commandments or the laws of God, seeing them as hard and fast rules that mustn’t be broken, possibly difficult habits to break.

Perhaps if we will change our perspective and put our focus on the results rather than the rules it will be easier to swallow.

The summary statement at the end: Love your neighbor as yourself sounds like it’s just telling us only to love someone else. We are supposed to love our neighbor but that’s only one part. The critical, and often overlooked piece, is the very end: …as yourself.

God knows that we will love others AS we love ourselves–whether we do it right or wrong-that’s how love works. But before we can love ourselves we must first love God.