DO YOU love yourself OR are you in love with yourself?

Last Sunday we had the chance to ask the following question of several young people: “Do we need to teach people to “love themselves” or are we born already loving ourselves?” Some knew their answer right away while others stopped to think for a while. Some debated their opinion with friends, while others did not want to talk about it. Overall the vote was split right down the middle. I picked two very typical answers to share with you:

Do we need to teach people to love themselves?

• “YES – We don’t know how to love ourselves because we see movie stars, etc. and judge ourselves based on what they look like, what they do, and we never seem to live up to that.”
• “NO – People love themselves; more people are selfish and love themselves than people who have super low self-esteem. When people complain about themselves they don’t necessarily feel bad for themselves, they may just want attention”

It’s interesting to see that the Bible says we are to "Love others as much as you love yourself." (See the Gospel of Mathew chapter 22 verse 39) So, some argue that in order to love others correctly we need to know how to love ourselves correctly. God created the “self” in His image. Check out what the Bible says in Genesis chapter 1 verses 26 and 27:

“God said, 'Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures.' So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women.” (Contemporary English Version)

So, with that in mind, how do you (or better yet, how will you) approach the following:
a. The value of each individual (including you)
b. The purpose of each individual (including you)
c. The relationship of each individual to God (including you)
d. The capability of each individual to love, worship, and obey God (including you)

If you have another 5 minutes take time to read what the Bible says in Mathew chapter 22 verses 36 – 40; then spend some time in prayer asking God to teach you how to love Him and how to love others.