Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
Scripture Reading: Mark 12:31
“And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
When the Bible says to love your neighbor as yourself, it means that you first must love yourself. Many people find it difficult to manifest love because they do not love themselves with the love of God.
God’s love is not the romantic love that a man and a woman have for one another. It is not the familial love that a mother has for her child or children have for their parents. The love of God is an agape love, unconditional love towards your fellow man. Beloved, you cannot show God’s love to your neighbor unless you extend it to yourself. In order to learn how to love ourselves, let us turn to the Bible’s description of the virtues of God’s love.
“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away”, 1 Corinthians 13:4–8.
Following these steps will help you learn to love yourself:
Be patient (or longsuffering) with yourself.
Be kind to yourself. Many of us are too hard on ourselves.
Do not despise yourself by looking down on yourself and what you have. Some people are never satisfied with themselves, so they praise others while belittling themselves.
Do not be prideful. Prideful people are perpetually trying to prove a point about anything and everything. When you flaunt yourself, your sprit-man is stressed and grieved. This explains why people feel empty after proving that they are greater than others.
Do not behave unseemly or in an unbecoming manner. Do not commit improper or rude acts towards yourself. Be well- mannered and manifest Christian character and decorum.
Be selfless. Serve others and you will restore peace to your soul. Most people feel good when they extend kindness. Be kind to yourself and reach out to other people because it gives you life, strength, and purpose.
Be not easily provoked. When you are provoked, you lose spiritual anointing and virtue. This is why you feel empty after expressing anger, and sometimes even feel disoriented.
Think no evil. When you think evil thoughts, you are inviting sicknesses into your life. Push all evil thoughts out of your mind. Do not rejoice in iniquity but in the truth because truth refreshes your spirit.
Bear all things. Believe the Word of God is true and hope in it, for the Word of God will give you a lively hope. Endure all things, for winners learn endurance to win the prize.
Analyze yourself today and ask yourself if you adhere to these nine virtues. I pray you will learn to love yourself with God’s agape love, in the name of Jesus.
Prayer Points:
If you have never given your life to Jesus and received God’s Spirit, there is no way you can practice agape love. Please accept salvation today and pray, “Dear Lord Jesus, I surrender my life to you. I confess and give up my sins. Cleanse me from my sins and write my name in the book of life. Give me the born-again experience and give me the grace to love myself so that I will be able to love truly my neighbor as myself.”
Father God, we cannot give what we do not have. Help us to love ourselves with your agape love so that we can give that kind of love to others. Give us the grace to bear all things and to be patient and kind to ourselves. Keep us from manifesting jealousy against ourselves, from being prideful, rude, self-seeking, and easily getting provoked. Help us to think no evil. Let us be winners, as we learn to love ourselves so we can then love others, in the name of Jesus.
