"You Have to Love Yourself..." June 24 Readings: 2 Chronicles 5-6, Acts 1:12–26, Psalm 77:4–11, Proverbs 15:30–33

Today's Readings - 2 Chronicles 5-6, Acts 1:12–26, Psalm 77:4–11, Proverbs 15:30–33

Devotional 

If you don't love yourself first, how can anyone else love you?
Be good to yourself, or no one else will.
You have to be aggressive, promote yourself.
Never let anyone step on you - you are no one's doormat.

We get so many messages in this world about putting ourselves first, loving ourselves, about self-esteem, and self-promotion. Much of that has even found its way into the Christian world, baptized and sanctified with Christian-sounding terms, but still as ungodly and unholy as ever.

I would issue the Miller Challenge here. Get your Bible out and read it cover to cover. That in and of itself will be a good thing. But take two markers - one green and one red. When you come to a passage that tells you to esteem yourself more highly, that encourages pride and self-confidence, or that demands that you love yourself first and foremost, mark it with a red marker. When you come to a verse that calls you to humble yourself, to deny yourself, to put others above yourself, to love others - mark that one with the green pen. When you are done with the Miller Challenge, simply flip back through the Bible. You will see a lot of green markings in your Bible. I'm not sure you will find anything marked in red. (Some might mark the words "love your neighbor as yourself" - but that isn't a command to love yourself, it's an assumption that you already do!)

Pay special attention to Proverbs as you read through it - it will have a strong green hue. It contains numerous admonitions against pride as well as calls to humble oneself before God and others. Notice Proverbs 15:33.

Humility comes before honor. 

It is when we humble ourselves before God and walk in the fear of the Lord that we attain true wisdom. Wisdom is rooted in humility and that humility produces honor. Pride produces folly which results in destruction and dishonor.

Don't listen to the false messages of the world - of course, they are lies, Jesus promised us that! Pride is the path to spiritual powerlessness. We must humble ourselves before God and before one another to be used by him and honored by him.

Father, may I humble myself daily, reminding myself that I am weak and sinful and that all that I am is because of Christ and all that I have flows from your bounty of grace. 

Think and Pray

Have you bought into the worldly idea that you need to put yourself first, or do you live in obedience to Christ and his word, which calls you to die to self, deny self, and live for him - walking the way of the Cross?
Do you live in pride or in humility?