LOVE YOURSELF FIRST

 
Love is not weak. Perfect love casts away fear. If we are afraid to speak out when a loved one is in the wrong or doing things that can destroy the love between us and the loved one or among the family as a whole, it means we do not love ourselves, neither do we truly love that loved one. It means we do not have a healthy sense of worth and value of ourselves. It’s an indication that instead of walking in love as we should, we are indeed walking in fear. Fear of losing that loved one’s love. Fear of rejection, of neglect, of retaliation etc.

And the more we walk in that fear, the farther true love eludes us. For whatever we fear shall come upon us. We hold ourselves as captives in relationships that were ordained to give us pure love and joy when we fail to act in love and do the right thing. Then after a while, we convince ourselves that the misfortune we suffer is destined by God for us.

God is good and there is no evil in Him. The ball is in our court. We get the treatments we allow from our loved ones. Whether we believe it or not, no matter how many excuses and denials we make, the way our loved ones treats us is a reflection of how we treat ourselves or how we permit them to treat us.

Respect begets respect. When we respect ourselves, everyone will respect us, including our loved ones. When we truly love ourselves, they will do so too.

How do we love ourselves? You love yourself by being true to yourself, by being true to your convictions, your beliefs, ideals, needs and individualism. We are to do to others as we want them to do to us and do to ourselves what we do to others. 

When we stand against disrespect, abuse and despise in our relationships with loved ones and we treat them as we want to be treated, it shows we love ourselves and love them indeed too. To give true love, we must first learn to know, understand and truly love ourselves first.  

Life is to be enjoyed and not to be endured!