Let’s first take a look at the attributes of love from I Cor 13: 4-8.
4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy ([a]the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].
Today I’ll be sharing about the importance of loving yourself by taking care of yourself because there is only one “YOU”.
The bible also talks extensively about loving other people. Please take some time to read 1 John 4:7-21.
Most times when we use the word love, we often use it as an express our affection to God and man. By man, I mean other people but as I was driving to work yesterday and listening to a preaching CD by Joyce Meyer which talked about the importance of taking care of ourselves. I realized there’s one person I often neglect to talk about loving, which is myself.
So I realized that love is 2 dimensional, Loving God first because he first loved us (1 jn 4:19) and loving what God created (which includes our other people, me and other things he created).
Matthew 22:35-40 (NKJV)
34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
You’ll be reading about loving yourself by taking care of yourself. Not in the context of being selfish or drawing too much attention to yourself but having a balance between loving God, loving the things he created and remembering to take care of you.
Here are some questions to ponder on…
4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy ([a]the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].
Today I’ll be sharing about the importance of loving yourself by taking care of yourself because there is only one “YOU”.
The bible also talks extensively about loving other people. Please take some time to read 1 John 4:7-21.
Most times when we use the word love, we often use it as an express our affection to God and man. By man, I mean other people but as I was driving to work yesterday and listening to a preaching CD by Joyce Meyer which talked about the importance of taking care of ourselves. I realized there’s one person I often neglect to talk about loving, which is myself.
So I realized that love is 2 dimensional, Loving God first because he first loved us (1 jn 4:19) and loving what God created (which includes our other people, me and other things he created).
Matthew 22:35-40 (NKJV)
34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
You’ll be reading about loving yourself by taking care of yourself. Not in the context of being selfish or drawing too much attention to yourself but having a balance between loving God, loving the things he created and remembering to take care of you.
Here are some questions to ponder on…
- Where are you on the list on the list of people that you take care of? Are you at the bottom of the list?
- Are you waiting for someone to do some thing for you or appreciate you or take you out?
- If you don’t love and value yourself, then you don’t love and value what God created.
Temperance which is true self control and Discipline is true self love. By discipline yourself in what you eat and do with and to your body, you are showing God that you appreciate what he created. It is as much your duty as it is to sacrifice and reach out to other people.
For you to give love, you need to have love. You can’t give what you don’t have. Is your love glass full or half empty?
Ask yourself - What type of relationship do I have with myself, do I love myself? Do I value myself? Do I respect myself? Do I meet my valid needs without feeling guilty about it?
Create the time to do a self-evaluation. There may be some things God has been speaking to us about ourselves. It could be to losing weight, getting a medical checkup, taking care of your temple (body), checking the condition of your house (your body, your health), exercising regularly, spending more me time, watching what we eat, taking yourself out, go shopping, getting more rest, discovering God’s purpose for you, discovering your ministry, your calling to serve, where to serve, your talents, interests, abilities and strengths, working on areas of weakness and the list goes on. Whatever it is, take an inventory this week and make a list and begin to work on it. As you spend more alone time in God’s presence, he will help us in all these area and teach us how to overcome all these challenges. If there is something you can change about your physical appearance, character or attitude, then change it instead of comparing ourselves to others all the time. If you can’t change it, then pray about it and ask God to develop an appreciation for what you have.
Sometimes people wait to get a wake up call to do what they need to do. Hello! This is it!
Do things for the right reason with the right attitude and stop giving someone else the job of making you happy. If nobody does it for you, Do it for yourself. Sometimes we have unrealistic expectations of others that they may not even know about. Place your expectations in God, He only can truly satisfy and show you how all your needs will be met.
You cannot enjoy life if you don’t enjoy yourself. Find the simply things that you enjoy when you are by yourself. According to John 10:10, God wants us to enjoy life to the full till it overflows.
My Final words …..Spend time in God’s presence to do what only you can do, which is showing us who you created us to be. Take care of your temple, check the condition of your house (your body, your health), lose weight if you need to, get a medical checkup, exercise regularly, spend more me time, watching what we eat, take yourself out, go shopping, get more rest, discover God’s purpose for you, discover your ministry, your calling to serve, where to serve, your talents, abilities and strengths, work on areas of weakness.It's your turn to speak - Were you inspired, motivated or encouraged to take action or make changes?
I would love to hear your comments, questions or feedback. Please leave me a comment below. Thanks :-)
Now do me a favor, live the good life that God has blessed you with to the full till it overflows by staying fit and fabulous,
Cheers,
Ade
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