Love Yourself?

[chloe_fantastic]

As someone who has been struggling with self-hatred, the Lord recently showed me that "my flesh" is not me. Hating my flesh, my sin, my sin nature, is not hating myself. Even more, you can and should hate your flesh without hating yourself.

Wow, this is something else that is a revelation to me as well. Thank you for sharing this.

[JTC]

I'm in agreement with Fez here. To love others, you must first love yourself. But not the pridefull, egotistical, arrogant love. That's not what Jesus means. But in the USA anyway, self love means getting everything you want for yourself, and who cares about the other guy., Where I live, to show concern for the other guy is seen as either being foolish, or you're seeen as a 1 in a million type of person. I've had several people tell me that if everyone was like this, what a wonderful world it would be. To that I usually say then let's do it. You can't just sit back and wait for everyone else to do it. We all have to do it.

I tell this to anyone whenever I get the chance. I hope it will sink in on some people.

[Matthitjah]

As someone who has been struggling with self-hatred, the Lord recently showed me that "my flesh" is not me. Hating my flesh, my sin, my sin nature, is not hating myself. Even more, you can and should hate your flesh without hating yourself.

Sis, wouldn't that be the nature of your flesh?

I would add that the scripture in question is speaking of taking care of and loving yourself in a moral sense. Much like Onelight has posted. Doesn't God want us to take precautions like exercising to stay healthy, or covering our nakedness to stay warm, or feeding our body's so that we do not starve?

[chloe_fantastic]

walla and Chloe nailed it,

BTW, off topic I know but, I love your little Pharoah and Moses.

[Fez]

As someone who has been struggling with self-hatred, the Lord recently showed me that "my flesh" is not me. Hating my flesh, my sin, my sin nature, is not hating myself. Even more, you can and should hate your flesh without hating yourself.

Sis, wouldn't that be the nature of your flesh?

I don't quite understand what you are getting at Nebula? I think I see where you are going with the flesh thing, but as Matthitjah says, is it not one and the same thing?

[He giveth more grace]

We can not divorce man from his sins.

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

BTW, off topic I know but, I love your little Pharoah and Moses.

I wonder how long it would take for someone to say something, they are actually toys.

[nebula]

As someone who has been struggling with self-hatred, the Lord recently showed me that "my flesh" is not me. Hating my flesh, my sin, my sin nature, is not hating myself. Even more, you can and should hate your flesh without hating yourself.

Sis, wouldn't that be the nature of your flesh?

I don't quite understand what you are getting at Nebula? I think I see where you are going with the flesh thing, but as Matthitjah says, is it not one and the same thing?

I am not understanding what you are confused about.

Maybe you are not understanding self-hatred? I hate myself because I speak my mind and discover my words hurt someone. I hate myself because I respond in judgment rather than grace. I hate myself because I don't love as Jesus loved, and in many ways still don't know how to. I hate myself because I'm a louse. I hate myself because I keep messing up. I hate myself because . . . .

Now, can I truly be patient with someone else when I can't be patient with myself?

Can I show grace to another where I can't show grace to myself?

We may appear as if we are extending grace and forgiveness, but the truth is that we are doormats allowing people to plow over us and resentment is growing in us like mildew in the forgotten parts of the basement.

So what the Lord showed me was that I need to hate what is the "flesh" that needs to be overcome without seeing myself as "the flesh" - view the flesh as a parasite or a virus rather than a part of me.

[He giveth more grace]

As someone who has been struggling with self-hatred, the Lord recently showed me that "my flesh" is not me. Hating my flesh, my sin, my sin nature, is not hating myself. Even more, you can and should hate your flesh without hating yourself.

Sis, wouldn't that be the nature of your flesh?

I don't quite understand what you are getting at Nebula? I think I see where you are going with the flesh thing, but as Matthitjah says, is it not one and the same thing?

I am not understanding what you are confused about.

Maybe you are not understanding self-hatred? I hate myself because I speak my mind and discover my words hurt someone. I hate myself because I respond in judgment rather than grace. I hate myself because I don't love as Jesus loved, and in many ways still don't know how to. I hate myself because I'm a louse. I hate myself because I keep messing up. I hate myself because . . . .

Now, can I truly be patient with someone else when I can't be patient with myself?

Can I show grace to another where I can't show grace to myself?

We may appear as if we are extending grace and forgiveness, but the truth is that we are doormats allowing people to plow over us and resentment is growing in us like mildew in the forgotten parts of the basement.

So what the Lord showed me was that I need to hate what is the "flesh" that needs to be overcome without seeing myself as "the flesh" - view the flesh as a parasite or a virus rather than a part of me.

Neb, I think that that is one of the most profound and deeply personal post you have ever written, that I know about. Thank you for it.

[JTC]

I was almost going to say that the self hatred Nebula is talking about is peculiar to women, but it's not. It's just more common among women because women take more of their sense of self worth from others, compared to men. But I know that even men get their sense of self worth from others. I think with men, much of it comes from parents. Once the parents are long gone, men take their sense of self worth from within, based on what we know and what we can do. But many women, even after the parents are gone, seek a sense of self worth from without themselves. And this is exactly why a husband must treat his wife as he would himself. Now based on how God set this up, and created us, as the husband treats his wife as good as himself, the wife then treats her husband very good. This in turn should lead the husband to treating his wife even better. And if it goes as God planned, when a wife feels good about herself she's more likely than her husband is at spreading this love abroad. From what I've noticed in my life, women find it easier to show love and charity to strangers than men do. But the woman/wife needs to feel very secure about herself to do this. Which comes back to the husband/man. I believe this is how God created us for it to work. And I'd say a few hundred years ago it was working for many people.

But then hedonism came in and ruined it. The egotistical self love took over. At least where I am. Once a woman get's kicked in her heart by 2 or 3 men, it's debatable whether or not she can do this. But a man too, once he gets kicked in the heart by several women, or wives, he finds it almost impossible to treat a woman as she needs to be treated.

And now it's gotten even worse. Nowadays a lot of women think the answer is lesbian love. I was just told this by a woman in her 50's. She likes me, but since I'm a man I am not to be trusted. I don't know her well. But the little I do know tells me she's being kicked in the heart by another lesbian. And as we all know, male homosexuality is on the rise. As if homosexuals are going to be true and faithful to each other. I doubt it because of what I've heard and seen. But I doubt it even more because God didn't create the human race this way. But I am a Bible believing Christian, so of course I think homosexuals will hurt each other even worse.

For me the only answer is to repent and get back to Bible morals

[nebula]

I was almost going to say that the self hatred Nebula is talking about is peculiar to women, but it's not. It's just more common among women because women take more of their sense of self worth from others, compared to men. But I know that even men get their sense of self worth from others.

Good point to make. But actually, from what I've learned, men tend to get their self worth from their performance.