Because of ⬇️
1 Corinthians 13:5 ~ It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Romans 12:10 ~ Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 ~ But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
So yep, at least I am disclosing my presupposition and bias (as a Christian) before you decide to continue reading this post or not.
Being a non-Christian once, by putting myself in such shoes, let me ask you, "What is your definition of love or presupposition of argument when you talk about 'Love myself'?"
I share with you mine,
"Love, is the commitment to seek the highest good or welfare for the other person."
This is why it is illogical or invalid to say that it is possible to love ourselves. You may disagree but let me hear your thought in comment box. =)
Following paragraphs are meant for Christians, but if you enjoy reading and open for discussion, press on.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I belong to Presbyterian church, thus I may be subscribing to Calvinistic systematic theology, which is why I came to conclusion that it is impossible and wrong to say that we "love ourselves".
First and foremost, in case some of us may forget, our purpose in life should be prioritised for honouring God (Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Psalm 73:24-28; John 17:21-23; Isaiah 43:7), because God love us first (1 John 4:19). It is this element or love that God gave us, we are able to emulate His love to the people around us, bring them closer to Lord as one of the way to honour Him.
The problem happens now, is that positive psychology movement which started around 1998 (and is a form of pseudoscience by itself), sneaks into church by slowing inducing the element of "Love myself". Not to mention theological discussion is kind of rare nowadays, thus we rarely examine our believe system from time to time.
We love to quote from 1 Corinthians 13:4 - 13 (especially wedding, you know...) but if we examine those sentences carefully, it actually said that "love...is not self-seeking...". This gives a good summary of what Love is not while we continue to search for the True Love.
Having that "Love is not self-seeking" as our presupposition of argument or first premise, then it is wrong or invalid to say that "We can love ourselves". On top of that, we have to remember that we need to honour God in whatever we do (including loving someone), so if we love ourselves, aren't we putting ourselves before God? Bible even warned us about those who are loving themselves (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Besides that Romans (12:10) also reminded us that in love, we need to honour one another above ourselves,
So, again, how is "love myself" valid?
Yep, you may argue that Jesus told us to "love your neighbour as yourself", but let me remind you to check the context of Mark chapter 12 and first part of the Great Commandment again (Mark 12:29-30)?
Not to mention Paul demanded us to not conform to the world (by subscribing to pseudoscience or postmodernism) but renew our mind and discover the richness of God's words!
I know it is hard to churn, especially theological discussion is intimidating for you but fear not (because there is no fear in love ~ 1 John 4:18 ❤️), let's study the Word together! (you know how to reach me 😊)
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