Learning to Love Yourself God’s Way

Matthew 22:39 (ESV) – “And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Devotion

Jesus taught us that the greatest commandments are to love God and then to love others. But notice this—He also said, “as yourself.” That means if you don’t have a healthy, God-centered love for yourself, you will struggle to love others in the right way.

This isn’t about pride or self-centeredness. It’s about identity. When you know who you are in Christ—redeemed, chosen, forgiven, and beloved—you stop living from insecurity or brokenness. You stop defining yourself by past mistakes or by what people say, and instead you live from the truth of God’s Word.

When you accept God’s love for you, you can extend that same love to others. Without that foundation, relationships often become unhealthy—filled with fear, striving, jealousy, or dependency.

• Loving yourself God’s way means embracing your identity in Christ.

• It means seeing yourself as valuable, because He paid the ultimate price for you.

• It means walking free from shame, bitterness, and comparison.

When you live in the fullness of God’s love, you can then reflect His love toward your spouse, family, friends, and community.

Prayer Focus

• Lord, help me to see myself the way You see me.

• Break every lie of insecurity, shame, or comparison off my life.

• Teach me to love myself rightly so that I can love others more fully.

• Let my relationships be healthy because they are rooted in Your truth.