I remember growing up in the 1980’s. One of the big musical hits was Whitney Houston’s, “The Greatest Love of All.” It had wonderful lyrics about believing that children are our future, overcome adversity, etc. But it wasn’t until I was older that I realized what the eponymous “Greatest Love” was: “Learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all.”
I would venture that most believers would say that self-love is the source of much of our sin. We love ourselves above others. We turn inward and selfish. I reflexively cringe when I hear any touchy-feely gobbled-gook about self-affirmation and love. I reject outright the philosophy of Norman Vincent Peale: “I’m okay. You’re okay.”
As a teacher I can see the harm in too much focus on the self. This can lead to vanity and self-centeredness. I’ve observed parents who have convinced their children that they are privileged princes and princesses who must make others bend to their will and meet their needs. One of the biggest challenges of growing out of adolescence is to think about things bigger than yourself and your feelings and your desires. Nurturing an ego will retard a person’s growth in adulthood.
And yet we need self-love.
We are commanded to engage in self-love.
You can read the entire article here.
I would venture that most believers would say that self-love is the source of much of our sin. We love ourselves above others. We turn inward and selfish. I reflexively cringe when I hear any touchy-feely gobbled-gook about self-affirmation and love. I reject outright the philosophy of Norman Vincent Peale: “I’m okay. You’re okay.”
As a teacher I can see the harm in too much focus on the self. This can lead to vanity and self-centeredness. I’ve observed parents who have convinced their children that they are privileged princes and princesses who must make others bend to their will and meet their needs. One of the biggest challenges of growing out of adolescence is to think about things bigger than yourself and your feelings and your desires. Nurturing an ego will retard a person’s growth in adulthood.
And yet we need self-love.
We are commanded to engage in self-love.
You can read the entire article here.
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