love God. love self. love others.

We hear quite a bit about the importance of humility, the benefits of self-deprivation, and why one should guard herself against self-indulgence. The Bible has been used for hundreds of years to bolster warnings intended to keep us from thinking too highly of ourselves, to help subdue, control and keep us in check. And while messages of abstinence, restraint, and modesty are not inherently harmful on their face, the sub-text is often that self-care and self-love are selfish.

However, the Biblical text reads differently.

37 And Jesus said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself .’ 40 The whole Law and the writings of the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:37-40

We are commanded, first, to Love God. To put our Creator above ourselves, to avoid seeing ourselves, our lives, and our problems as the end all be all. But instead, to seek and to revere One who is greater than us, than our lives, and our problems. This is in line with the narrative around humility.

Where it gets interesting is what follows. The Bible says to “love your neighbor as yourself.” This is often abbreviated simply to “love your neighbor” while the “as yourself” remains silent. There is an assumption here that we are already loving ourselves, that we even know how to love ourselves. More often than not, this is not a fair assumption.

Many of us, self included, are yet learning what self love means and what it looks like. We mimic how to love God from stoic grandmothers who practice unshakable faith, and model our love for others after the sacrificial love of exhausted mothers. However, loving ourselves is something we may not have a model for.

In spending more time with the text from Matthew it became apparent that the order of the greatest commandments were just as important as the commands themselves.

37 And Jesus said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

Matthew 22:37-38

The is the first and greatest commandment. It’s not just important that we love God, but that we love God first. Why? Because God is our model. We humans — both male and female — were, after-all, created in His image and His likeness.

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have complete authority over the entire earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God; male and female He created them.

Genesis 1:26-27

Thus, loving God is a masterclass in how we are to love ourselves. We must do with all our heart, our soul, and our mind. Self love is physical, spiritual and mental. Before we can pour out in to others, we must first exercise loving ourselves in a way that is complete and holistic.

Join me this month as I launch The Love Series. Beginning with a 21-day challenge to encourage us to love God, ourselves, and others with intention and discipline.

Love,

Maaden