Is Self Love Godly?
ETIW Weekly Newsletter: August 28 2023
What is Self love and is it Godly?
Today I want to give my own two cents on what I feel self love is and how it fits into God’s plans for us. Because of new age, self love and self-help has gained a bad rep. It is often used to turn oneself into God, rather than learning how to love through true Godly wisdom.
I personally love spending daily time listening to sermons from different preachers and pastors on YouTube. I feel the holy spirit loves speaking through different people because we each have unique perspectives that will speak to different souls. Sometimes some preachers love to lean into the importance of sacrificing yourself for God’s kingdom. After all the bible does say:
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
~ Mathew 16:25 ~
Umm, Excuse Me?
Did you just say I have to lose my life in order to make God happy?
Yes. But hold on, before you run off into the sunset clutching your purse! Hear me out.
God’s way of life is not the same as the world’s way of life. The world believes in what can be explained through a clear cause and effect. God doesn’t work that way.
In many scenarios in the bible, God tells people to let go of what they have in order to see the power that shines through when they choose to…
“Walk by faith, not by sight.”
~ 2 Corinthians 5:7 ~
God loves doing what seems impossible. For example, in Judges 7, God went out of His way to dwindle an army from 32,000 to only 300. He promised them they would easily defeat an army of 135,000 and they did. Why? Because God loves teaching lessons through faith. It helps us understand He is the true supplier of all things.
Okay, so what does this have to do with self-love?
Jesus also commands that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. God created everything, including you and your neighbor. He wants a relationship with us so we can better live a faithful life led by our trust in Him. When we choose to cultivate this trust by loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. (Mark 12: 29-30)
We are able to shine His light on others and show up for them when God puts it on our hearts to do so. As we become a living example of God’s love for us, we literally become love itself. Love begins to live in us in a way that helps us love ourselves more like the indescribable way God loves us.
To love God is to love everything He creates and everything He stands for.
An effortless love and peace grows in our lives as we learn to accept God’s mysterious ways and the faith-based life He wants for us. When you have sound faith, winds can blow in your life, but you trust in the foundational belief you have in a creator who does not play by the rules of this: “I’ll believe it when I see it” world.
God created all of us but does not stand for everything we do. Still, He knows we are capable of doing and accomplishing the things He does stand for. God is perfect love and perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:16) The world is full of both the good and bad. But it’s helpful to remember that…
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
~ James 1:17 ~
On my own unique walk with God, I fell into self-help because I did not know how to love and accept myself. I did not feel like I was good enough. There was a point in my life where I felt like I had to do more to prove I was worthy of someone’s love or attention and did not trust people who seemed to just love me for me. I was afraid.
When I moved away from trying to heal myself and instead decided to turn my gaze on God, I began to walk away from the things of the world. I stopped paying attention to trends and comparing myself to people I will never be, and I no longer felt I needed to have a certain look, aesthetic, or lifestyle to be worthy.
In my opinion, losing your life means loving yourself because you are choosing to surrender your fears of the unknown and walk through life with faith instead. In this way, our search for self love can be Godly in nature.
You are choosing to trust that God created not only you but the universe. Believing He knows the ins and outs of everything under the sun, and He wants what is best for us. You begin to see the world as God sees it, worthy of patient love that casts out fear. And you begin to see the value of your existence in all of it. As I walked with God this bible verse began to hit differently:
"For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
~ Psalm 139:13-14 ~
Life is full of a lot of vanity (Ecclesiastes 1:2) that often leaves us with temporary satisfaction. However, living through it with the presence of my creator accompanying me, makes every moment, both the good and the bad, a part of the unique story I am choosing to walk; with a conscious, open heart and peaceful spirit.
Above all else, God wants us to become people who lack nothing (James 1:4) so we can give from an overflowing cup. To accept the transformative effects of the love of God means choosing to become a living example of His presence by sharing that love with others.
To me, that is where true self-love comes from. It is not about making ourselves God, but rather, sacrificing our selfish desires for His heavenly ones, knowing His desires are for the good of everyone involved. Including us.
