Self worth

The Greatest Commandment

Matthew 22 34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

These are the greatest commandments give to us by the Lord. As verse 40 points out, all other laws hinge on these. But, let's stop for a second and think about these seemingly easy commands.   First, put God on a pedestal that nothing can neither surpass nor destroy. This includes bit is not limited too, family, self, world view, materialism, vanity, sloth, gluttony selfishness, sin as a whole.  Block out time ever day where you are in prayer or reading Scriptures.  It means to hold God in the utmost regard of reverence our lives.  But how do we love each other?

Loving each other can be trying at best sometimes, we all know this from youth to 125 yrs old.  However, God is requiring us to love each other without discretion, prejudice, discrimination, but in an all-inclusive manner.  How do we go about this? Who are "our neighbors"? Are common questions debated around this prompt. The crux of the second demand is this, how do we love ourselves?

We all love self similarly yet drastically different. We address our core needs, food, shelter, and the like. We seek some of our wants. These are the similarities, where we all tend to differ is the importance each of the aforementioned item and we seek execution of obtaining these. But, does this mean we love ourselves the way God intends, NO!!!

Self love starts self value. How much do we deem ourselves worth? Many of us get this wrong and suffer the consequences, primarily bad and unnecessary relationships. How can we expect someone to love use the way we want and deserve them to in the most positive of was if we constantly devalue ourselves or portray the notion that we don't care about ourselves? It's a sad but common and very real altruism the repeats itself day after day.

We get our worth or value from God alone, from no one, nothing or nowhere else, period. He set the bare very high so who are we to lower it and why? As John 3:16 states, God gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall have everlasting life!  If Jehovah willingly sacrificed He who sits at the right hand of the Creator's throne for us and generations to come, that means our net worth as a person is invaluable.  We are worth more than the economies of the world at their peaks time infinity. Nothing on this earth is worth more to God than us.  Isn't that a bleesing?

What devalues self? Sin for starters.  Believing we need people around to be valuable, spouse, children, friends. Believing the lies and perceptions of others about "ME".  Allowing someone to abuse "ME" for any reason.  Choosing society, materialism, world, satan over YahWeh. This is a microcosm of things that bring or worth down from where God set.  But, Goodness and Mercy accompany us everyday of ourlives. 

Goodness and Mercy are collectively the Holy Spirit, who is trying to work in us to bring on the much needed often painfully overdue change that will help us see our value and put us back on the path to God. The Holy Spirit effects change in us via the power of God's agape love.  The systematic change starts with a major renovation of our thought process and perspectives of who "ME" currently, why, and who God needs "ME" to be.  Marvin Sapp sings a song called "He saw the best in me". The writer pens these words, "He saw the best in me. When everyone else around, could only see the worst in me." 

The writer is alluding to the fact that Jehovah knows us and sees us for far more than we could of ourselves.  Our thoughts and perspectives of "ME" are disgracefully distorted by all things not name YahWeh, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Ghost.  Lucifer has cunningly realigned our focus, and the our means of determining self worth is wrong.  So How should I see "ME"? We must put God on the ultimate pedestal first. 

Know His word and teaching through Christ, and let the holy Ghost fulfill God's work from within.  As this process goes on, you will start to let go of and die to things the brought "ME" down in the site of God; lust, selling out for money, and all other worldly obsessions. You will find yourself dressing differently, speaking different, demanding the right affection and treatment from others in your life and letting go of those that rebuke this new "ME". 

When we see ourselves in the mirror, we are not repulsed by the site. Instead, we see God in ourselves and take pride in the journey of what was, and what is now "ME", praising YahWeh relentlessly for the transformation. Take pride in that "WE" are sanctified for and by God for His will.  Let the past die with yesterday,  today is day 1 in the life of God's "ME", tomorrow is still under construction.

Marvin goes on to say in the song "See he's mine, and I am his, It doesn't matter what I did, See he only sees me for who I AM!" Let who you were die, don't hold on to that decaying she'll any more! Paul says to the Corinthians, "2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

This is evident in the account of the aduletress Jesus encoutered.  She lived a wayward and sinful life.  He instructs the adulteress after humiliating her accusers by saying, "10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said.“Then neither do I condemn you,”(H) Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” 

When we are renewed in Christ, our value skyrockets, so too should our assessment of self worth. Only after this transformation can we appropriately love one another as we are commanded to by Christ from YahWeh. When we don't feel like loving ourselves as we should, our fall back to sinful ways, remember the Cross!