Do I Need to Love Myself More? // Ask Pastor John

Jesus said we should love our neighbors as ourselves. How is this kind of self-love different from the mantra we hear in advertising and social media?

Self-love is a loud mantra in our culture. It echoes in our advertising, and it’s on repeat in our social-media feeds. Self-love is becoming inseparable from our cultural image in America. Self-love is what we do. So do we need to learn to love ourselves more? It’s a question from a perceptive teen listener to the podcast. “Hi, Pastor John! My name is Danielle. I’m currently in high school, and I’ve heard lots of variations on the ‘love yourself’ mantra constantly spoken to young men and women like me. We’re told to love our personalities, our own skin, our bodies, and our choices. This seems like an extremely secular worldview, yet the Bible says to ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ So here’s my question for you: Should we ‘love ourselves’? Is this something we need to be mindful of, or is it an assumed, inborn inclination? What does the Bible say about self-love?”

Episode 1350: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/do-i-need-to-love-myself-more

Related Resources:

“What’s the Difference Between Self-Love and Self-Esteem?” https://youtu.be/ZROJVw9qmh4

“How Self-Esteem Ruins Bible Reading” https://youtu.be/EU_lqj1FRFU

“When Depression Descends, Do the Next Thing” https://youtu.be/rbPjtB-xMjM

“What Hope Does God Offer in My Depression?“

Ask Pastor John Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFF7F6AE365DA3564

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