Love Yourself

“The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” - Mark 12:31 
 
Be honest. When you saw this title, you questioned it a little bit. “Where in the Bible does it say to love yourself?” you ask. Good question. Mark 12:31 gives us great insight. It says, “The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
 
Technically, the verse does not directly say “love yourself.” What it says is, “love your neighbor as yourself.” That is important because we assume that means to love your neighbor a lot, but that is only the case if we love ourselves a lot.
 
Now, this doesn’t mean putting ourselves first all the time. When Jesus answers this the way, He intended for it to be answered: Love God first, then love your neighbors...as yourself. That order is important; God, others, us.
 
For some, the challenge is loving others as much as we love ourselves. But for others, the challenge starts with loving themselves. As a child of God, you were made in His image. God made you exactly as He wanted you to be, and He wants you to love who you are!

Based on Mark 12:31, how can you love others if you can’t first love yourself? You can be unselfish and love others, but that does not mean that you cannot take time for yourself or do things for yourself every now and then. In order to be able to pour into others, you must have something to pour from.
 
Make no mistake about it. God made you to be who you are. God created you, He loves you, and He wants YOU to love YOU. If you are going to love others and pour into others, it starts with loving yourself!