Don't Forget To Love Yourself

Christ’s Golden Rule is “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)

It’s true that we should treat others as well as we wish to be treated, but this taps into an even more profound truth. If we should treat others as well as we wish to be treated, then we should treat ourselves as well as we should wish others treat us – and further, we should treat ourselves and others with the standard we would hope reflects God’s standard of perfect love. And the same applies to the other great commandment, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) – we must also love ourselves as we love our neighbour, otherwise we might not treat ourselves as well as we need or deserve.

And all that is bootstrapped with the primary instruction: “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength” (Mark 12:30). This commandment comes first because our love for God is the foundation of everything else. If we do not love God fully, our love for ourselves and others becomes misaligned. Loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength means we get to see ourselves as He sees us - as infinitely valuable, worthy of love, and made in His image. And this enables us to treat others and ourselves with the same grace, patience, and kindness that God extends to us – because we sense a shared unity in understanding how infinitely loved and valuable we all are.

The reason Christ says about love God and love neighbour that “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” is because we can’t truly live if we don’t love God, and nor can we love ourselves if we don’t love Him first. And if we can’t love ourselves properly, we can’t love others properly either. This is the only Divine equation that fulfils the design of love: 

❤️ Love God > Love Yourself > Love Others ❤️

By loving God first, we receive the true measure of love - one that is holy, pure, and self-giving. That love then teaches us how to love ourselves in a healthy, godly way. And from that place of wholeness, we can truly love others as ourselves - reflecting God’s Divine love in our relationships.