"For men shall be lovers of their own selves..." 2nd Timothy 3:2

"Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world." - Lucille Ball (1911 - 1989)

Doesn't it seem like modern society is continually pushing us to do something that would have been at one point unthinkable? To love yourself above all else? Where the self-less were once looked to as role models, they are now pitied as sad, deprived individuals who surely "must have been miserable" and would have been so much happier and more fulfilled if they had just known how to "love themselves". Now the prideful and selfish are seen as secure and full of wisdom, and we all wish we could be more like them.

"I finally realized that being grateful to my body was key to giving more love to myself." - Oprah Winfrey

The Bible warns us of those who love themselves above all else. 2nd Timothy 3:2 begins by stating "For men shall be lovers of their own selves..." The world has nearly accomplished it's ultimate goal of making itself into a god. Ever since Lucifer tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden by telling her that by sinning she could become like God, man has continually strove to commit the same sin which caused Satan himself to fall from Heaven: to exalt ourselves. That thing which you love more than anything else, your top priority, is the god of your life. Whether you call it a god or not. And if that thing is yourself, then you have transgressed the Lord's commandment "you shall have no other gods before Me", you have committed the sin of idolatry. Love is meant to be an outward action, not an inward one. Once you truly know what love is, it is impossible to be a lover of your self more than anyone else and not know that it is wrong. To love yourself is to be selfish, it's as simple as that. Jesus said that the most important commandment is to love the Lord your God, and the second most important commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. We are to love God more than ourselves, and to love others as much as we love ourselves. Why is the world falling apart despite our best efforts? Because we continue to grow in our sinful desire for self-exaltation.

Turn from your self-love towards the One who can save you from your sins and from an eternity in hell. If you place your hope and trust primarily in yourself, then in the end your "god" will not be able to save you from an eternity of misery, because your god will be yourself. No man can save himself from hell.

In Christ's Love,
Matthew