Our generation has come up with this slogan of “loving yourself” and to “follow your heart” in attempts to provoke a movement in which teenagers act in ways of self-love to improve self-esteem, confidence, and ultimately happiness within themselves.
However, there is one major flaw in this movement. We as humans are born with our interests in mind and without a problem in making sure our needs are met and our desires are fulfilled. Self-love is second nature to us. Instead, we are called to love one another, after loving God with everything we have.
Matthew 22:37-39 states, “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Out of loving God and staying true to His word, we are then capable of loving others and putting others first. Learning to put ourselves first is not something anyone needs to improve because we do it naturally.
Instead, we must all learn how to humble ourselves and be selfless to serve others the way Jesus came to earth to serve others: "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28).
When we put ourselves down and don’t love ourselves, it isn’t because we need more self-love, it’s because we need to focus more on God and His love for us.
When we focus on that, our hearts are changed and we can fully appreciate the way God made us perfectly as it says in Psalms 139:14, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” When we can fully appreciate God’s love for us and how He sent his only Son to the cross, we are able to love Him and put others first.
Additionally, following being told to follow our hearts is flawed advice because in the Bible it states “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Because of this, we cannot trust our hearts to guide us because they will guide us astray, into the ways of sin which ultimately leads to death: "For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
Instead, we must once again focus on God and what God wants for our lives because He has the perfect plan for our lives and knows us better than we know ourselves. It says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Moreover, it says in Romans 8:27-28, “And he who searches knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Ultimately, our generation needs to stop accepting the perpetuation of this selfish attitude that “loving yourself” encourages. We need to do the exact opposite and love God first and with that learn to humble ourselves to be able to put the needs of others above our own.
