Love isn’t just reserved for a man and a woman. It doesn’t have to lead to a traditional marriage and family. Love just is. But how does this apply to self-love? In this blog, we’ll discuss whether self-love is biblical or sinful.
Is Self-Love a Sin?
Recently when I talked about the necessity of self-love, someone challenged my heresy by demanding I show even one verse to support my claim.
I don’t need to defend self-love, but the moment got the better of me and I did descend to his level. I quoted the extremely famous verse: “Love your neighbor as yourself,” which suggests that love begins with you.
If you have any self-awareness or any psychology education at all you know that if you don’t love yourself you will struggle to love others.
Because love loves.
Love is indiscriminate.
Self Love and The Church
But the church doesn’t typically nurture self-love.
If you were told you were sinful from birth, that your heart was desperately wicked, that your mind was deceitful, and that you were going to Hell by default, you have no defense.
You: “But I don’t feel that evil. I think I’m a pretty good person.”
Them: “That just proves you’re proud AND deceived!”
What if the concept of original sin was invented as an attempt to describe why the world sometimes feels broken and as an attempt to explain why humanity seems to suffer so?
When you love yourself, you really are going against the religious pressure that keeps you doubting and even hating yourself, which in turn makes you perpetually submissive, needy, and constantly in need of restoration that is only bestowed by those in authority over you.
Go Forth and Love Thyself!
Loving yourself is revolutionary. You should do it more. If you need tips, read this blog about loving yourself through deconstruction.
5 comments
Is self-love sinful? There’s a topic for Sexy Sunday. 8^)
This self love reflects that as an image of God and God is Love, shouldn’t we be the same thinking about ourselves? He loves us because he is love. So to love another we must love ourselves and accept ourselves in all our flaws or we do the enemies work for him. To love is to know love and to know love, one has to love. No other way can we love. No love but hate and you spew out hate. But love begets love and thus is the gospel of Jesus.
Such an overlooked concpet in the church we grew up in. Thanks for the reminder, David.
Amen!
Thank you David for the always inspiring and encouraging thoughts. In the beautiful words of RuPaul, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love someone else? Can I get an amen?”