S5 EP6 | Is Self Love Biblical?
The “Self love” movement is everywhere you look these days. But what does the Bible say about self love?
Does the world have it right this time?
Join Carla as she contrasts 5 aspects of self love - the world’s way and the WORD’s way.
When we look at scripture, we see that self-love IS Biblical!
But there’s context for us here: Just like everything good that God's created, the enemy has distorted and twisted and made a fake replicate of it, and that goes with self-love.
Who Do We Serve?
The common vernacular is “If x,y,x isn’t serving me, then I’m going to release it.” God’s calling to us as Christians is to Biblical love - the kind of love that looks to serve others first. Remember, we are called to love our neighbours as ourselves.
Accountability
According to the world, you can do whatever you want in the name of self-love, it doesn't matter. Biblical self-love holds us accountable to the word and the knowledge that our actions have consequences.
Absolute Truth
You’ll hear people saying “my truth” rather than The Truth, leading to a lot of “truths” floating around with no anchor. The Biblical standard for truth and self-love is Jesus’ truth - that only He is the way, the truth and the light and we access God through Him and Him alone.
The Object of Glory
We are commanded to do ALL to the glory of God. Not self-seeking or self-promoting, but putting God at the center and the head of all we do.
The Prospect of Peace
We are not called to strive. We can rest in the justification Jesus has done. We don’t need to chase happiness or balance or alignment.
I can be at peace because I don't love myself because of who I am in the natural. I love what God has turned me into. I love what God has created. I love what God has renewed and my worship of that goes to the one who renewed me. It goes to God, world self.
Wondering what kind of self-love you’re ascribing to? Audit your fruit:
World self-love: “serve me”, lacks accountability, driven by “my truth”, glorifies self, and is striving.
Biblical self-love: serves others, has accountability to the word is driven by the truth. Glorifies God and is at peace.
Check in with scriptures like 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 - do your actions reflect the love laid out in scripture?
God calls us to self-love. But not self idolatry. God calls us to see ourselves as his children of daughters of God, daughters of the King, and in that, to walk accordingly, not with self-deprecation, but not with self exaltation either, but a humble love for what God has created in.
Key scriptures:
Psalm 51:10
Ephesians 2:10
Romans 5:8
Matthew 22:39
Philippians 2:4
James 4:17
John 14:6
Corinthians 10:31
Romans 5:1
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Connect With Carla:
Inquire about 1:1 coaching ---> carlaagreswellness@gmail.com
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