LOVING ME

Has someone taken your faith?
Its real, the pain you feel
The life, the love
You die to heal
The hope that starts
The broken hearts
You trust, you must
Confess
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best,
the best of you?
- Foo Fighters



I tell people all that time that living the Christian life really isn’t that complicated- just love God and love your neighbor. I draw those two simple truths from what’s commonly referred to as the Great Commandment:

Matthew 22:34-40
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. [35] One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: [36] "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
[37] Jesus replied: " '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] And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' [40] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Seems pretty simple but we can miss a critical element to this great instruction. Jesus says- “love your neighbor AS YOURSELF.”

Admittedly, one of the hardest things for me to do is love myself. Today’s society, church included, can me feel less than lovely. Maybe I’d feel better about myself if I had- the wealth of Bill Gates, the looks of Brad Pitt, the voice of Tim McGraw and the heart of Mother Theresa...oh, and whatever sneakers Michael Jordan is endorsing.

Seriously, the goal of this world seems to be to make us feel like we’re too ugly, fat, poor, stupid, weird, goofy or unholy to be loved and accepted by anyone, much less ourselves. Thank God for Oprah or we’d all be suicidal!

In another passage a religious guy goes deeper and asks Jesus to explain what He means by “love your neighbor.” Jesus goes on to give us the story we commonly call the Good Samaritan story. You can find that story in Luke chapter 10.

I thought is was interesting to look at how the Samaritan showed his love for this battered man and ask: Do I love myself the way this Samaritan loved his neighbor? As I worked my way through the passage, here’s what I discovered:

1. The Samaritan had compassion on the victim (NIV says “pity”)

Do I have compassion on myself? Do I sometimes pity myself? I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, I find great healing in having a private pity party with the Lord but letting him bind up my broken heart when it’s done. We’ve all got issues!

2. The Samaritan took care of the fella’s wounds.

Do I nurse my own wounds? Or, do I bury them and act as if I’ve always got the victory? It’s essential that I get whatever help I need to keep myself emotionally, spiritually and even physically healed. In the words of Pastor Ken’s sermon last week – “GET REAL!”

3. The Samaritan went the extra mile and spent cold hard cash on the victim.

Yes, this is my favorite part about LOVING ME! In God’s eyes I’m royalty. I’m His chosen vessel. This isn’t pride in a bad sense. This is fact. Of course I have to keep things in balance. The point is, if I was worth Jesus life then I’m worth a new suit of clothes...or maybe a guitar (if it’s in my budget!...budget...schmudget). Just because I was born into Walmart world doesn’t mean I can’t grow into Nordstrom man!

This devo may seem a little backwards for this time of year when we should be others minded. The point is this, if you can’t love yourself then you aren’t really loving others anyway- you’re just putting up a religious front and giving out of duty. It looks good on the outside but that kind of giving is anything but cheerful. Start by loving yourself for who God made you to be:

You are a person of FAVOR
You are a person of POSITIVE INFLUENCE
You are a WORK OF EXCELLENCE
You are the EVIDENCE OF YOUR GOD

NOW ACT LIKE IT!