Profit of meditation: Love, as you love yourself (the third commandment)
The thoughtless are circles of recurrent liabilities to themselves and society. The first law is Love (Love of God, Neighbor, and Loving yourself). It may be termed the law of life. Joyful is he who abides in this principal law, the law of life. The lawyer asked, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:35–40)
Balancing Love in the Law of Life
God is love. The more of Him we have, the more our ability to love freely and fervently. The loss of God (and the Spirit of grace and life) is the loss of love. Human depravity is the loss of the grace to live right and the grip of carnality and sin in man. It is possible to become so depraved that the fundamental love for oneself is lost. At that point, man is unable to help himself avoid harmful destructive characters. This may result in different degrees of captivity by enslaving vices. This is the situation with most addictive lifestyles. Oh, what great deliverance Christ has wrought for mankind! He came to give us life and to give it more abundantly according to John 10:10.
The Self-Centered Love in the Last Days
In 2 Timothy 3:1–5, a prophecy of the characteristics of the evil that shall prevail in the last days is outlined by Apostle Paul. It is written, ‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.’ The state of being without natural affection culminates in disobedience to parents. Disobedience to parents is akin to spiritual suicide. As well as actual suicide, the person demonstrates lack of selflove and care for his own well-being in time and in eternity.
Characteristics Of Loss Of Godly Self-Love
‘Children, obey your parents; this is the right thing to do because God has placed them in authority over you. Honor your father and mother. This is the first of God's Ten Commandments that ends with a promise. And this is the promise: that if you honor your father and mother, yours will be a long life, full of blessing’ (Eph. 6: 1-3 TLB).
The Bible lists seven cases of suicide and one of an attempted suicide. The best-known story is that of Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples. Judas was so emotionally disturbed that he hanged himself (Matt. 27:5). Most of the suicides in these biblical accounts took place in the context of war, during which the individuals were already immersed in the immediate context of death. Though if they had faith in God, they would hope to the end and never give up. We also see fear or shame as a significant factor in the accounts of self-killing.
In 1533, those who died by suicide while accused of a crime were denied a Christian burial. In 1562, all suicides were punished in this way. In 1593, even attempted suicide became an ecclesiastical crime, which could be punished by excommunication, with civil consequences following. A murderer cannot go to heaven; a suicide is a murderer, just that in this case he took his own life, which he does not own.
The Positive Practice of Self-Love
The response by Jesus to love as you love yourself is based on a logical general attribute of humans to love oneself. Self-love is a state of self-awareness that generates actions that support our physical, psychological, and spiritual wellness. Self-love means having a high regard for your own well-being and happiness. Self-love means taking care of your own needs and not altogether abandoning one's well-being or deliberately allowing harm to oneself. No one in their normal senses would do harm or hurt themselves or intentionally cause their own peril.
Furthermore, self-interest extends to our bond of affection for family relationships. Hence, charity is said to, expectedly, begin at home; and by extension should begin with oneself. Natural affection is a feeling of liking or love that exists inherently between family members. It's not based on a contract or legal obligation or expectation of profit. For example, a mother's love for her child is an example of natural affection.
In the Bible, the phrase “without natural affection” refers to a lack of the natural love that family members have for each other. In Romans 1:31 and 2 Timothy 3:2-3, Paul uses the phrase to describe people who are unthankful, disobedient to parents, and unholy.
Admonition to a Balanced Love Life
The command to love takes grace and devotion to God to obey. An order is required while at the same time, all have to be obeyed. As James 2:10 puts it: "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." Hence, JOY consists of: J (Jesus, Godward), O (Others, Neighbour), and Y (Yourself). It emphasizes loving Jesus first, secondly your neighbor, and then yourself.
"Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law... You shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:8–10 NKJV)
In conclusion, we owe ourselves to love our life. Hence, Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:10: "For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile."
About the Writer
Dr. Sunday Adache is a bi-vocational minister of the gospel.
He could be reached via email: abejuh@gmail.com or +266-63179799.