Love your neighbor as you love yourself?

Addresing the OP, haven't been following the topic sin, sin, sin, but addressing the Love thyself thing, well I'm with you on that. I'm not crazy about 101G somethimes, let me say that again. "I'm not crazy about 101G .... "SOMETIMES", but I love 101G ... all the time... see, I'm like the Lord Jesus, he laid down his life but had authority to pick it back up, I "LOVE" that. I'm practicing to do the same thing... daily, (I die daily), but just haven't perfected it ......... yet.... (smile). but I'm trying.

now in practicing, I die daily to other things. so until the Lord returns, or I bite the dust. .......

PICJAG
101G The "Spiritual Saboteur"

Waiting on him said:

Yes John, I do love Jesus, but I’m not to crazy about me.

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Hello Waiting,
Excellent question. I come from a family of self loathers and, even though we are saved/being saved...it is tough to let go of how we see ourselves. At times, it can be a deep dark pit of despair to go down that road. We can read what He say's about who we are or we can listen to Satan. But then I think, everything cannot be caused by Satan as in our thoughts about ourselves and how we see ourselves. Upbringing I'd say plays a part too. For some, it's not fully being socialized growing up as a child. For some, it could be mental, emotional abuse...if one is told they are no good, or such and such enough times, they can begin to believe it about themselves.
Wish I knew the answer.
I agree with you, seems easier to love my neighbor than it does my self, for sure! Been really reaching out to Him about how to truly grasp His love for me...and come up short every time yet, we KNOW that He loves us but, still...

Inordinate self-love is idolatry. It's better to have a modest estimation of ourselves and our abilities then to overextend in this area.

Waiting on him said:

What if I don’t love myself?

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Then you do have a serious problem.

Enoch111 said:

Then you do have a serious problem.

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What if you love yourself and have a serious problem? (Don't worry the only serious problem I have is that I don't have any marbles. That and my brain seems to get this one and only stupid channel. XD)

April_Rose said:

What if you love yourself and have a serious problem?

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Then you'll have to get "Waiting on him" to wait on you.

Enoch111 said:

Then you'll have to get "Waiting on him" to wait on you.

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He might be waiting a loooooooooooong time though. The day I bumped my head on the coffee table when I was four years old was the day that my life changed forever.

Nancy said:

I agree with you, seems easier to love my neighbor than it does my self, for sure!

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We need to simply remember that in the biblical context loving oneself equates to avoiding self-harm: So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church: (Eph 5:28,29)

Which also means taking care of ourselves physically (proper diet, exercise, and rest), mentally (avoiding exposure to mental garbage such as radio and TV), emotionally (avoiding exposure to emotional poisons and toxic individuals), and spiritually (feeding on the Word of God and prayer).

We are not to deliberately harm ourselves, and the same principle applies to others. The last six commandments are essentially to stop us from harming others in any way. But Jesus took it one step further, and through the parable of the Good Samaritan showed Christians that anyone in need is a *neighbor* and loving your neighbor means taking concrete action to bring help and comfort to others -- not just lip service.

But too many Christians forget that love includes tough love, which means helping people to see that they need to shape up, and not make excuses for themselves. The Bible does not allow Christians to lamely excuse themselves when they fail to do or think what is right and righteous. Therefore we read in 2 Timothy 3:16,17 that Scripture is also given for (1) reproof (convicting one of his sinfulness) and (2) correction (improvement of life and character).

Waiting on him said:

Did Jesus love Himself?

ive been following this thread SinSinSin, and it seems this is the the royal law. What if I don’t love myself?

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I’ve been struggling with this recently too. It’s the effect of seeing you’re just like other men. You see all the struggles in yourself to trust and the bad stumbles and the sneaky ways you cheat to make an end run around trust and you think, I am EXACTLY like Israel in the desert...

And, whereas before, you spent a lot of time faulting others, you start doing it less because you see your own faults and your own holding your thumb on the scale if it makes them come out worse than you, as much now as you see theirs. So you go from not liking others very much to now not liking them OR yourself very much.

I think it’s the Spirits work in us, to prepare us to be willing to be the one to lay it all down as rubbish and refuse to hold on to any of it any longer.

it’s strange, but I wrote down the other morning that I must be missing something regarding counting the cost because there seemed to actually BE no cost - giving up all the evils and the false comforts to maybe actually be able to help people if He flows through you to them. Where is the cost, honestly? Giving up your temporary life and rights, laying down your life, hating mother, brother, sister, and yes, even your own life, because it might actually help others instead of the whole farce just continuing. It’s giving up illusions for the solidly real and eternal. That’s not a cost. It’s all Monopoly money, not real. Isn’t that bizarre...?

Waiting on him said:

Did Jesus love Himself?

ive been following this thread SinSinSin, and it seems this is the the royal law. What if I don’t love myself?

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That depends how you would define love. Do you get up in the morning and wash, eat, go to work so you can have money to pay for the roof over your head? Do you put a band aid on your cut finger or just let it get infected? When you are sick, do you do something about it, go to the doctor, take vitamin D and C? Are you careful when you cross the street, look both ways, careful when you are driving, taking precautions in every aspect of life so you don't suffer some accident, pain, injury or death?
Basically, you care for yourself, otherwise you would be dead. You love yourself. Maybe you don't like your personality or character, maybe you don't like the sin in you, but you love yourself. How do we love others? The same way, care for them, their needs, if they are sick, or need help in any other way that you would normally help yourself. "Hey, I wouldn't go out in that storm if I were you!" "Why don't you come over for dinner Friday!" "Hey, I am sorry about your loss, let me know if there is anything I can do?
How does God love us? He provides. But we have to work too, cooperate. We just don't sit around looking for hand outs. There are people that don't love themselves: destructive, have given up, irresponsible, complaining, rebelling against God and everyone - because it's all their fault, not theirs, society just dealt them that hand!

Enoch111 said:

Which also means taking care of ourselves physically (proper diet, exercise, and rest), mentally (avoiding exposure to mental garbage such as radio and TV),

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You forgot to add avoiding conspiracy theories... LOL

Adoration said:

You forgot to add avoiding conspiracy theories... LOL

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No what I forgot to add was "Do not call actual conspiracies conspiracy theories". That is a lie and Satan wants you to believe that there are no conspiracies.

Enoch111 said:

No what I forgot to add was "Do not call actual conspiracies conspiracy theories". That is a lie and Satan wants you to believe that there are no conspiracies.

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YES BOSS !!! LOL My bad for being sarcastic.... but good on you for figuring it out...

Enoch111 said:

No what I forgot to add was "Do not call actual conspiracies conspiracy theories". That is a lie and Satan wants you to believe that there are no conspiracies.

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I was going to ask you what the heck you're talking about, but I don't wanna look like an idiot so I'll just pretend and smile and nod.

April_Rose said:

I was going to ask you what the heck you're talking about, but I don't wanna look like an idiot so I'll just pretend and smile and nod.

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Please see post #31 and my response to it.

Adoration said:

You forgot to add avoiding conspiracy theories... LOL

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@Adoration Conspiracy theories can be problematic indeed, not just each individual one, but the very mindset. Far better to study God's Word and go where it takes us...

farouk said:

Conspiracy theories can be problematic indeed, not just each individual one, but the very mindset. Far better to study God's Word and go where it takes us...

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I don't follow anyone's theories.... but I am shocked at how many do. The mindset that I am seeing is filled with PRIDE... ARROGANCE and FALSE AUTHORITY.

Adoration said:

I don't follow anyone's theories.... but I am shocked at how many do. The mindset that I am seeing is filled with PRIDE... ARROGANCE and FALSE AUTHORITY.

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@Adoration It seems to be about applying false logic - however appealing - to things. Even Scripture can be interpreted wrongly, if we are not careful. Hence the need for the gracious illumination of the Holy Spirit, and prayerful dependence on Him for it...

soul said:

What mindset are you seeing?

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I can't help but feel like this question is an ambush waiting to happen.

Sorry... I went off topic here.

Adoration said:

I can't help but feel like this question is an ambush waiting to happen.

Sorry... I went off topic here.

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@Adoration Not unusual for threads to perambulate, anyway...