In Lev 19:18 and Mark 12:31, we read, “The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Do you believe it is a sin to love yourself?
Before I became a follower of Christ, I had learned how to love myself. I was able to love and accept myself, even though I knew I was far from perfect. I never accepted the things I did wrong, but when I did something wrong, my self-love and self-acceptance made it possible for me to admit I was wrong and quit it. And because I loved and accepted myself this way, it was easy for me to love and accept my fellow man. Because I knew I was far from perfect, but I could admit my faults and make a change, I expected the same thing from my fellow man. I knew no one was perfect, but as long as they were able to admit to being wrong and quit being wrong, I had no problem accepting them and loving them.
The Bible calls this repentance, and the Bible says if anyone repents, they are forgiven by God. So back then, I was forgiven by God, but I was not reconciled to God. If I had died, I would still end up in hell as a forgiven sinner.
When I became a follower of Christ, I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior. On that day, I became reconciled to God because only the cross can reconcile us. When I started reading my Bible, I learned how important it was to love myself and accept myself. So I continued as I had always done if I did something wrong (sin), I would admit it and quit it (repentance). I was able to do this because I loved myself and accepted myself. My Bible told me to do the same thing for my fellow man, love them and accept them but not the things they did wrong. Through my love and acceptance for them, they would be encouraged to admit to being wrong and quit sinning to be forgiven.
When I started going to church, my pastor quickly told me I was wrong. According to him, it was a virtue to hate yourself and see yourself as a wretched sinner unable to do anything good. He said no one could repent of anything because we are all slaves to sin.
Have you experienced something similar to this?
In Deut 6:4, Lev 19:18, Matt 22:37, and Mark 12:31, we read, “Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Jesus is telling us here that our love for Yehovah or God and our neighbor depends on us loving ourselves. According to Jesus, we cannot love Yehovah, our God, and our neighbor if we dont first love ourselves.
Why?
Because of what love is.
1. John 5:3, John 14:15 show us what love is. We love Yehovah, our God, and Jesus if and only if we obey the Torah. (the law of Moses). We love our neighbor if and only if we follow the Torah (the law of Moses).
If you hate yourself and you dont believe you are capable of doing any good because you are a wretched sinner, obeying the Torah will be impossible. To obey the Torah, you have to believe you are capable of obeying the Torah. To believe you are capable of obeying the Torah, you have to have faith in yourself. To have faith in yourself, you first have to love yourself and accept yourself.
This is why your love for God and your neighbor depends on you loving and accepting yourself first.
So when my pastor told me it was sinful for me to love and accept myself, he was wrong.
It is not wrong to love yourself and accept who you are; in fact, your eternity depends on it. But how do you love yourself and accept who you are? The same way I used to live before I became a follower of Christ, and the way I continued to live after becoming a follower of Christ:
Before I became a follower of Christ, I had learned how to love myself. I was able to love and accept myself, even though I knew I was far from perfect. I never accepted the things I did wrong, but when I did something wrong, my self-love and self-acceptance made it possible for me to admit I was wrong and quit it. And because I loved and accepted myself this way, it was easy for me to love and accept my fellow man. Because I knew I was far from perfect, but I could admit my faults and make a change, I expected the same thing from my fellow man. I knew no one was perfect, but as long as they were able to admit to being wrong and quit being wrong, I had no problem accepting them and loving them.
The Bible calls this repentance, and the Bible says if anyone repents, they are forgiven by God. So back then, I was forgiven by God, but I was not reconciled to God. If I had died, I would still end up in hell as a forgiven sinner.
When I became a follower of Christ, I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior. On that day, I became reconciled to God because only the cross can reconcile us. When I started reading my Bible, I learned how important it was to love myself and accept myself. So I continued as I had always done if I did something wrong (sin), I would admit it and quit it (repentance). I was able to do this because I loved myself and accepted myself. My Bible told me to do the same thing for my fellow man, love them and accept them but not the things they did wrong. Through my love and acceptance for them, they would be encouraged to admit to being wrong and quit sinning to be forgiven.
It is not a sin to love yourself; your eternity depends upon it.
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