On "Loving Yourself"

Mark Fox:

With all due respect to the memory of the late Whitney Houston, the greatest love of all cannot be found “inside of me.” Quite the opposite. Looking inward for hope, help, self-esteem, courage, joy, peace or love is the very thing the Bible teaches us not to do. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul as he writes his last letter to Timothy: “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self.” He goes on to describe 17 odious symptoms, things like arrogance, pride, brutality, treachery and more. It’s a nasty sandwich pictured there, with the top piece of bread being “love of self,” and the bottom piece being “not a lover of God.”

That’s the answer. The opposite of self-hatred is not self-love. It is love for God, which produces a healthy love for others. The solution cannot be found “within us.” It can only be found outside of us, the creature, and in him, the Creator.

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