Love God, Love People Part 3 - A Deeper Dive
Scripture: Mark 12:28-34, Psalm 139:14
Message Recap
This week we conclude our sermon series, Love God, Love People. In this series, we have considered Jesus' response to the question, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
“29 The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
In Part 1, we were reminded that it is easier to love others more as we learn to love God more. As the Church, our mission is clear: everything we do should be an expression of loving God and loving others. The message of Part 2 was that the only way we can effectively spread God’s love to the world is to prioritize loving our neighbor. We only get better at loving through practice. The overall goal of this series is to show that everything we do - our outreach, worship, and interaction with the community - should have the commands of love God and love people woven into it.
This week we reflect on a third part of Jesus’ answer that we might sometimes overlook. When he says we are to love our neighbor, he adds the qualifier “as yourself.” Anytime we think of the greatest command, love God and love people, we should also include love ourselves. Our capacity to love others is intertwined with our ability to love ourselves. How we love ourselves is the foundation of how we will ultimately love others. When we fill our hearts with compassion, forgiveness, and acceptance for ourselves, we are better equipped to extend these same virtues to everyone around us.
Unfortunately, the notion of self-love has become completely distorted by the world. We are encouraged to put ourselves in the center of the universe. Social media feeds our desire to be worshipped by the constant pursuit of “likes” and “follows.” We make ourselves the stars of our own movies. Clearly, this isn’t what Jesus had in mind. In fact, his idea of loving ourselves was the direct opposite of what we see today. Jesus talks about humble confidence in knowing who we are, a child of God. Loving yourself means accepting the grace and forgiveness God offers and, in turn, extending it to others.
In the diagram below, we have a series of circles. The circle in the middle represents you as the person God created. The outside circles represent your roles - employee, volunteer, friend, etc. If you made this diagram for yourself and filled in your roles, how would you rate yourself on a scale of 1 (not good) to 10 (almost perfect) for each role you play? Using the same scale, how would you rate yourself overall, the “Me” on the diagram?
Most people tend to be more generous when rating the roles they play. When completing this diagram, it is not unusual to find that most roles have a higher rating than the one given to the “Me” circle in the center. If we assume our effectiveness in our roles flows from the center of the diagram, then the ratings in our roles could never exceed the overall rating we’ve given ourselves. A person cannot be an almost perfect friend if they are average overall.
If the center circle represents us as children of God, then it must be rated a 10/10 for everyone. The center circle doesn’t include our mistakes, poor decisions, actions, or choices. Those are all taken into account in the outer circles. Each of us is God’s perfect creation. God doesn’t make mistakes. We are worthy of God’s love, forgiveness, and grace.
We are all individuals, and God has made each of us uniquely special. As such, we shouldn’t waste our time comparing ourselves to others. The Bible tells us specifically not to compare. And yet, we spend time comparing our wealth, jobs, and appearance with those we perceive as superior. Marketers and the world use our obsession with being better than others to convince us we’re not worthy or as good.
In Part 2 of this sermon series, we concluded that the more we love God, the more we are opened up to love others. Earlier in this message, we said that loving ourselves allows us to receive the love, forgiveness, and peace God offers so that it can flow through us to others.
Consider the following passages of scripture:
“10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:8
13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13 (NIV)
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV)”
When it comes to how God sees us, should we believe the inspired words of scripture or what the world tells us? God does not make junk. He does not make mistakes. Who are we to tell God he is wrong?
Do you believe you are worthy of God’s love? If you do, then there is no reason you can’t love yourself. We can love others because God first loved us. Self-love is not about arrogance or self-centeredness. It is about recognizing God’s desire for us to treat ourselves with the same compassion, grace, and forgiveness that he extends to all. Only when we accept what God so willingly pours out will we fulfill the greatest command to love God, people, and ourselves.
It’s Not Arrogance
Many people struggle with the idea of self-love because they fear being labeled as arrogant or self-centered. Our world has become hyper-sensitive to those who seem to place themselves on a pedestal above others. Those who are quick to judge and boast about their superiority grab so much attention in the media and on social platforms. But, to be clear, arrogance is not a form of self-love; it’s the exact opposite.
As Christians, loving ourselves gives us confidence. We are confident in God’s love and grace for all. We are confident that we are each given unique gifts and talents to share with the world. We are confident that when we make mistakes, we are forgiven when we repent. The confident person is humble and compassionate. When we are confident in God’s love for us, we don’t have to compare ourselves with others or shout down those who disagree with us. Others will recognize the love we feel instinctively; we don’t have to boast.
On the other hand, the arrogant person operates from a position of fear. The fear of losing power, prestige, and position. The fear of not being respected. The arrogant person overestimates themself, and they believe they have nothing else to learn. They lack empathy and always see themselves in a position of superiority. The arrogant person cannot see their weaknesses and exaggerate their strengths. Arrogant people tend to not have an accurate picture of how others perceive them and lack an appreciation for the value of others. They thrive on the adoration and praise of others.
Scripture tells us that seeking the favor of others distracts us from our purpose and role in God’s kingdom.
“10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Instead of seeking people's approval, we must live in the approval of Christ. In Christ, we can be fully confident because his approval has already been won.