We were created in God’s image, Jesus gave us all His teachings in body and soul so we can recognize His love now and forever. These words will help you to always remain looking to the Savior.
“Let not loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.” Proverbs 3:3-4
The love for oneself has nothing to do with selfishness, on the contrary, it is no less than one of God’s commandments, and it has a dual purpose: on the one hand it serves as a shield to protect us from outrages as well as verbal and physical aggressions from those do not know love; and on the other hand equips us to unconditionally love our loved ones in especially and our neighbors in general.
“Let me hear in the morning of thy steadfast love, for in thee I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to thee I lift up my soul.” Psalms 143:8
More than once and in different places we have heard people advise others to love themselves. In general, this seemingly noble advice seeks to create an awareness of how important we are. The premise aims to warn us about not neglecting the esteem we have for ourselves, especially when we are more concerned about the welfare of others than their own.
“And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” Corinthians 13:2
The calling that we, as children of God, have is to value and give thanks to God for his dual work in us. In other words, what He has done by creating us and also by redeeming us. We were created in God’s image and we were rescued by a very costly sacrifice, which is that Christ died for us, and that is where our dignity comes from. This means that we owe God an eternal gratitude and one way to return His love is by loving ourselves as He loves us.
“That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love” Ephesians 3:16-17
The correct attitude in regards to ourselves is to value, appreciate, and esteem God's work in us. We are His work, and that's where our dignity comes from. The key to revealing our unlimited potential is love, which is what frees and heals us; but love begins with ourselves. Remember that it does not make sense to look outside for what we do not give to ourselves.