Love Yourself

    When was the last time you were in pursuit of your dream? Of a goal? And what do you say when you attempt it? We often make excuses and say we can’t do it. We count us out before we start. That is not because we are physically able to do it, but unwilling to attempt our dreams or goals due to a disbelief. I see so many people complain and agonize over their health, but it boils down to the fact they do not love themselves. If you love yourself you will go after your dreams and try your absolute best because you believe in yourself. Your dreams are not dead. All you have to do is breathe life back into it and keep it alive, but before we can pursue anything we have to take care of one major person and that’s ourselves. What does the best version of yourself look like? It starts with loving yourself on a consistent basis and taking care of what God gave you first.

     If you ever want to understand Jesus, which can be hard without a relationship with Him. The first two commandments sum up majority of what we should do. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Then love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). That’s Jesus and it changes lives with this mindset. The first part is to love God by honoring your Temple (mind, body, and spirit). The second part is serving and treating others in the Image of God, but the problem lies in the last portion of the second commandment that I see “love yourself.”

     There is a running theme I hear when it comes to motivation or implementing any new behaviors. Insecurity, excuses, unwillingness, and lack of desire are all components, but there is something deeper that prevents us from doing what we desire to do. It all comes down to not loving ourselves. We just do not love ourselves. We are our own worst critic. We speak negatively over us and within our thoughts. Lastly, we do not believe in ourselves because how can you believe in something you do not love. This is not a love about idolizing yourself. Love yourself as God loves you and how He sees you every second of the day. God gave you your body, mind, and spirit. Be in tune with you and devote yourself to God with what He has given you then use that to be purposeful towards others. Know you are a masterpiece created for good to do good. Know you are fearfully and wonderfully made.

     Once, you truly love yourself you can truly impact the area around you. I want to challenge all of you to learn to love yourself more. If you don’t love yourself how can you love others, truly. It all falls in line. The challenge is to love yourself. How can you do that. One, commit to a full relationship with God and allow Him to move in your life. Two, forgiving yourself from your past and mistakes. We all can forgive someone else, but we don’t forgive ourselves and still hold it against us. Forgive yourself and let Jesus give you a new slate. Repeat bible verses and quotes that lift you up. Three, implement a behavior that will make loving yourself easier by taking care of yourself with exercise, healthy eating, sleeping,and adventures. Once you finally love yourself you will be able to live, try new hobbies, breathe back into your dream, start that goal, and impact the world way more effectively. We know love conquers, so conquer yourself by loving you.

•    Forgive yourself    
•    Love yourself    
•    Conquer yourself    

Action Step:

Look in the mirror every morning and compliment yourself by speaking life:

“I am made in the Image of God. I can do more than I perceive. I got this.”