Do You Love Yourself?

     Do you love yourself? This is a core part of self-esteem in psychology. Are you accepting and receiving the love of God for yourself? This is a core part of salvation in Christianity. The two are mutually exclusive.

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” – 2 Tim. 3:1-5
 Do you love yourself? For most people this is a question of goodness. “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:12). Or it is a question of righteousness. “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). Loving oneself is easy for those who feel good about themselves. These feelings stem from the belief that you are lovely or lovable. On the contrary, the Apostle Paul said, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24). Obviously, Paul wasn’t feeling good about himself. It is not the voice of self-love that we hear from Christians in the Bible. No! Rather, it is the voice of self-hatred. Why?

“Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” – Eccl. 2:17

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:26

“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” - Joh 12:25
 God is angry with sinners everyday (Ps. 7:11). Our sin is hateful, despicable, and abominable. You have heard that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” by God (Ps. 139:14). This is true! Our biological design makes us a masterpiece of creation. But we are unlovely and wretched on the inside because we are sinful (Matt. 23:27-28). Coming to this realization will make you morally hate yourself! We are not talking about being suicidal. This is where Christians humbly come into agreement with the justice of God (Ps. 5:5). We agree with the angry frown of divine justice and accept the fact that we deserve condemnation, and this puts us into a position where we can comprehend the love of God. Why? Because God’s love cannot be merited or deserved by sinners.

“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” – Rom. 5:7-8
 God does not love sinners because they are lovely or loveable. Being created in the Image of God does not make the LORD less angry with sinners or partial in judgment (Gen. 1:26). This marvelous feature of mankind does not make us less guilty. On the contrary, because we are more valuable to God than many sparrows (Matt. 10:31), and because we have been given the capacity of a relationship and accountability, our sin against God is much more grievous, unacceptable, and intolerable. Sinners distort and misrepresent the Image of God as they violate their conscience and give themselves over to the raw passion and pleasure of sin. This is an animalistic and beastly debasement of mankind.

"But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption" – 2 Pet. 2:12
 Our Creator gave us eyes, and said, “Look to Me!” (Isa. 45:22), but sinners prefer to look elsewhere. “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Rom. 3:18). Similarly, the LORD said, “Read the Bible!” (Deut. 17:19), but sinners are addicted to worldly entertainment. “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.” (Psalm 10:4). Our Creator gave us ears, and said, “Listen to Me!” (Deut. 6:4, Isa. 46:3, 12, 49:1), but sinners disrespect God and ignore the Bible. “Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.” (Jer. 6:10).

Our Creator gave us a heart, and said, “Love Me!” (Matt. 22:37-38), but sinners have hardened in their hearts against God and are madly in love with sin (Ezek. 36:26-27, Jn. 3:19-20). Our Creator gave us a brain, and said, “Know Me!” (Jer. 4:22, 9:23-24, Jn. 17:3), but sinners are strangely dead to God and numb to the Holy Spirit. “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” (Rom. 3:11).

“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” – Rom. 8:5-8
 Our Creator gave us a mouth, and said, “Talk to Me!” (Jer. 33:3, 1 Thess. 5:17), but sinners are mute to God or insincere in prayer. “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness” (Rom. 3:13-14). Our Creator gave us feet, and said, “Follow Me!” (Matt. 16:24-26), but sinners prefer the nightlife of Broadway and the fantasy of Theater. “Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known:” (Rom. 3:15-17). All seems hopeless if we are left to ourselves! Something is terribly wrong with our eyes, ears, heart, mind, mouth, and feet. The love of oneself is twisted, corrupt, unrealistic, and dangerous.

Nevertheless, there is hope. God still loves sinners even though they are hideous monsters of iniquity! How can it be? He may not delight in them, but He loves them (Mal. 2:17). He has devised and accomplished a plan of salvation for sinners. Speaking of this, it was written, “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20). God’s love is greater and stronger than anyone has ever imagined! As we honestly accept our sin, guilt, and condemnation, according to the Scriptures, lost sinners are then guided into the grace of salvation, because God is in the business of saving His enemies.

“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” – Rom. 5:10-11
 Heaven is publishing good news to condemned sinners! Salvation is a divine miracle. It is entirely the work of God in the human soul. Do you want to be saved from yourself? Sinners are reconciled to God by grace through faith in the Gospel, and upon being reconciled, they are reborn. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3). A permanent change takes place by the mighty power of God! Sinners are turned into saints. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17). Right now, even today, divine love is going about the world conquering, converting, and creating. Today is the day of salvation! Tomorrow is not promised. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21).