Learning to love yourself begins right here in Matthew 22:39... "love your neighbor as yourself." It's straight from the mouth of Jesus! The entire command is: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Jesus plainly states in these two passages that we are to follow these two commandments.
So, here's the question. How can you possibly love your neighbor the way Jesus tells you to love them, unless you love yourself first? This is truly profound if you think about it! You can't possibly give others what you don't have. Right?
So how can we put ourselves on a path to learning to love ourselves with a Jesus kind of love?
#1. Spend time reading God's word each day. Focus on specific scriptures that remind you that YOU are fearfully and wonderfully made! If you need scriptures checkout Self Love, Scripture Devotional Cards – Truepost Inc. Slowly read those scriptures and work to memorize them. You might even write them on 3 x 5 cards and carry those scriptures with you throughout the day, so you can proactively keep God's word in your mind and heart.
#2. Spend time in prayer each day and ask God to help you with learning to love yourself. Let God know that you want to learn to walk in HIS truth and you want HIS help fighting off any negative thoughts or actions. 40 Top Bible Verses About Prayer - Encouraging Scripture (biblestudytools.com)
#3. Pay attention to what your are putting in your mind. You know that old saying... garbage in, garbage out. What are you listening to? Who are you hanging out with? What are you reading? These are just a few major things that can have a huge impact on your mindset. If something or someone is not serving you well, it's time to change it up. Learn from others who have overcome their own self-love issues by reading their books, listening to their music and Podcasts. I love Lauren Daigle's music and this song is a great one to help you on your journey Lauren Daigle - You Say (Lyrics) - YouTube. All of these are great tools to help you to build up your self-love muscles.
#4 Make the first 3 things on this list non-negotiable! Do them every day and before long you will notice a lightness to your step and you'll be on you way to a more healthy and balanced self-image.
I completely believe that developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is where self-love begins. The scriptures are very clear that God created each of us in HIS image and that HIS character has gone in to our creation. If you need proof of this, start by reading Psalm 139: 13-14 and Ephesians 2:10.
One things for sure, when we reject ourselves, we are not in position to accept others and love them the way God intend for us to do. God wants us to have a healthy and balanced self-image. Remember Proverbs 23:7, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he..." Thoughts are very powerful and you must train yourself to think the way God thinks. And HE things you're pretty darn special!
Be diligent in reading HIS word, praying for HIS wisdom and following HIS instruction in scripture. When you do, you'll be on your way of ridding yourself of those thoughts of self-rejection and replacing them with thinking that God approves of.