VIRTUE: a valued principle of good moral behavior; a holy habit.
re-spect: noun 1. a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, their qualities or ability.
VICE: a practice of wrongdoing, corruption of virtue, an unholy habit.
con-tempt: noun 1. the state of being despised; dishonor; disgrace.
Our family of origin may not have practiced loving behavior. Parents, grandparents, or siblings might have said they loved us with words, but their actions were anything but loving. As a result we began to believe that we were less than valuable, unworthy of love, which led to self-disrespect
Negative self talk sets in and before long our own behavior becomes less than loving toward ourselves and others. Self-destructive habits take on varying forms: substance abuse, eating disorders, self-injury, etc…
At the root of these problems we find a simple lack of respect; which we were never properly taught to begin with. So maybe we can take a step back and learn something for ourselves that most likely our parents never learned for themselves.
The best place to start… The Beginning, with The Creator and His creation.
Respect is godly and a form of reverence for God, the Creator of our universe and everything in it. If we can’t respect Him, we might as well give up. Respect should and must start here.
“We learn very early as we start to know who God is, that He respected us into existence by making us in His image and likeness. Knowing that love is the powerful flowing virtue that gives respect its strength, God’s love gave us breath and the right to be called his heirs and children. He expects us to reflect back to Him what He has given us as an act of reverence in gratitude for His gift of life. He is our sole reason for existence.” ~ Patty Woodmansee
God said His creations are good. Who are we to argue with God? If God said we are good, shouldn’t we believe Him? We must respect His creations and that includes ourselves!
Respect recognizes value. Before we can respect ourselves, another person or material things, we must recognize their value and acknowledge it with appropriate treatment.
Take These Few Steps to Respect Yourself:
- Treat yourself the way you want others to treat you. Be honest, don’t harm or insult.
- Recognize when others disrespect you. Don’t be afraid to take a stand for yourself.
- Take care of your body. When you make an effort you always feel better about yourself.
- Get to know yourself. Take time to be alone, find out what you enjoy, pray or meditate.
Love your neighbor as you love yourself! But first we must love God before we can even begin to love ourselves!
Let’s Love God and Love People with Israel Houghton http://youtu.be/m_ywWqDa-aI
Resources:
Loving Yourself for God’s Sake by Adolfo Quezada
Christian Virtues by Patty Woodmansee
Wikipedia
Character-in-action.com
WikiHow.com
www.pickthebrain.com