Do you love yourself? It is a strange question, but one that we should not avoid asking. I would argue that according to Scripture the Christian loves himself more than the one who is not a Christian. The more sanctified Christian loves himself more than the less-sanctified Christian. The one with whom the Lord is dealing will love himself more at the end of the Lord's dealings than the one with whom the Lord has never dealt at all. Ready to call me a heretic? Let me explain.
To consider the nature of something, it is always necessary to consider its end. Because we are worshippers by nature, we WILL worship something or someone. In this age, most of us will worship ourselves. Worship is the inevitable expression of that which we love. It is overflow. We were created to love all things for the glory of God. Yet because of sin, what we see and breathe as common in this world is to love ourselves for our own sake. Thus, even as we so often exhibit this kind of love, we are repulsed by others who also love in this same way. Why? Because the end of their love does not comport with the end of our own love. It is our carnal passions and desires that drive us, right down to our relationships. We love ourselves so much that we only pursue relationship with people who are like us, who entertain us, who do not annoy us. Thus, because the end of our love is ourselves and NOT the glory of God, we prove that we don't really love ourselves at all. This is only true if we were created to love the Lord our God only and to serve Him only. Because the Christian's eyes have been opened to this truth, by God's continuing grace, we love the Lord our God above all others, including ourselves. Thus, we love ourselves best when we love God most.
Augustine nailed it when he said in his Confessions, "He loves you less who together with you loves something which he does not love for your sake." When I first read this, I was struck by its brilliance. In one sentence, Augustine opened my eyes to the end of love and helped me better understand that the one who is most sanctified loves himself most.
1 comment:
It's amazing how truth can often be revealed by a simple statement. I had that experience once when I read I John 4:19: "We love because He first loved us." This verse confronted me in two ways. (1) that God loves me and (2) when I accept this fact by faith, I am empowered to love myself and others.
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