Have you ever wondered why the marriage/divorce rate is so high? Have you ever wondered why there are as many suicides? Have you ever given serious thought to the life you live? Have you ever wondered how much love and respect you keep vs. how much love and respect you give? 1 Cor. 13 says, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." All too often "love" tends to be a one-way street. A one-way street in the sense that we tend to care about others so much that we actually can forget to love ourselves as well.
Loving ourselves is so vital to the relationships that we keep with others. But how can loving ourselves be more impactful in our pursuit of loving others? The bible in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Loving ourselves began with the love of Jesus. Loving others begins with loving ourselves. If we love Jesus then we know how to love ourselves. If we love ourselves then we know how to love someone else. There is another side to this though. If we have love for ourselves and we have a love for Jesus and know what love is through His example, then we recognize when a lack of love is expressed toward us.
In the world that we live in today, many people express love in many ways but when difficulties arise, a line seems to be drawn between how much love and respect we give ourselves vs. How much love and respect we give to the other person or people involved. We downgrade ourselves and upgrade others. Some get emotionally bothered when someone don't give them equal love and respect. It's okay to "think of others more higly than ourselves" as the scriptures teach us but that didn't mean forget about ourselves in the process. When the going gets tough it is easier to live with self than others. We can control self and cannot control what others do. So how much do you love yourself? Do you let the actions of others determine the self-respect and self-confidence you display? The characteristics of love in 1 Cor. 13 have as much to do with how we love ourselves and practice it, as it has to do with the relationship we keep with others. The love of Jesus is universal in action. We are to love our enemies just as much as we love our family and friends. BUT, PLEASE, LET US NOT FORGET HOW IMPORTANT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF LOVING!!! IT IS BETTER TO PRESERVE THE LOVE of CHRIST IN US SO THAT WE CAN EXPRESS LOVE IN THE RIGHT WAY!!! HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE YOURSELF?
