Relationship Goalsنموونە

“U Gotta Love Yourself”

In some of His most famous words, Jesus said, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ ” (Matthew 22:37–39). 

This shows us the connection between having a relationship with God and having relationships with people, as we saw back in Devotional 1. But let’s look closer at the second greatest commandment. Notice that it says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus drew a definite connection between our love for others and our love for ourselves. 

Most of us spend so much time hating things about ourselves that we don’t realize we’re crippling our ability to love others. There’s no way you can figure out how to love somebody else well in a relationship if you have not first figured out how to love yourself. 

Some of us treat ourselves so ugly. We settle for way less than what we know we deserve. We violate our bodies and our hearts and allow others to do the same. We use our own words to put ourselves down constantly. 

Well, consider this. If you devalue yourself, then you will inevitably end up treating your neighbor, or even your spouse, the same way. 

In order to learn to love yourself the way God intended, you have to build a relationship with God, who is love. Remember, your relationship with Him is your ultimate relationship. But then loving yourself means accepting who God created you to be, as hard as that may be for you. It means taking the time to find your fulfillment in Him and realizing that only He can fill the emptiness you feel inside. 

The way God created you was not a mistake. Remember, He made the human race and He “saw that it was very good!” (Genesis 1:31). He calls you His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10). He wants you to see yourself the way He sees you—loved and valuable.

What are the obstacles you face to having a healthy self-love?