Our Daily Bread: Navigating the BluesSýnishorn

Be Gentle With Yourself

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. -1 CORINTHIANS 13:4–5

Many Christians have heard the beautiful language of 1 Corinthians 13, also known as the Love Chapter. It is often quoted at weddings and lifted up in sermons as the esteemed way to love one another.

But, have you ever used these words to think more about how you are to love yourself? After all, a part of the greatest commandment reminds us to love others as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:37–39).

How would your language about yourself change if you were patient with yourself? How would you treat yourself differently if you were kind to yourself? How would the voice inside of your head be different if you reminded yourself that love for yourself is not easily angered or disappointed or doesn’t rehearse wrongs?

I bet you’d treat yourself differently if you turned a mirror around on the Love Chapter and remembered that to love this way is applicable not only to our neighbors but to ourselves.

When you’re in the midst of the blues or full-on depression, it is tempting to be hard on yourself and think negatively about yourself.

Today, I challenge you to use the words in 1 Corinthians 13 to love yourself better, to give yourself a break, because love always hopes, protects, trusts, and perseveres. Because you love yourself, you can keep going, looking for and expecting a better day. Be gentle with yourself. Be loving toward yourself.

MY CONFESSION

I can love myself well. Be patient and kind with yourself.

Journal about ways you can love yourself like 1 Corinthians 13 describes.

God of love: I know you love me—as evidenced by your gift of Christ. Now, teach me to love myself and to treat myself well as I heal and continue to grow into the person you’ve called me to be. Amen.

*This devotion is taken from Day 17 of Katara Washington Patton’s book Navigating the Blues: Where to Turn When Worry, Anxiety, or Depression Steals Your Hope.