***For it has been said, "Do unto others as yourself"***
...a point of clarification...
The statement is not 'do for yourself, and then go do that for others'...
It is a statement of measurement...the love you measure out to others
is the love that will be measured out to you...
...the amount you forgive...will be forgiven for you...
How much should we forgive...7 times 70....
How far should we go...asked to go one mile -- go two....
How should we love the other person...as much as you love yourself...
No commandment is needed to 'love yourself'...every fallen human
has that flaw built in...no one needs training in putting themselves first...from infancy it's an ingrained trait...but everyone
knows how they want to be treated -- as if they matter -- as if they are first -- as if they are the sole object of attention...
...THAT
standard is applied to your neighbor (see illustration of good Samaritan for who's neighbor)...it's a readily understood unit
of measurement that no one could mistake, that's why it was stated that way...not to ENCOURAGE self-love...but to demonstrate
where that level of loving SHOULD be applied...a correction of direction...NOT towards self -- but towards others...
To misapply that quote as a justification for giving yourself strokes
is an example why some of the harder sayings are misunderstood...
...and, as a point of illustration...you're not so much a container,
like a pitcher -- but you're a conduit...like a pipeline...
...the verb 'be filled' with the Holy Spirit is one of continuous
action, not a static state of being...you are a vessel only in the regards that you are being continuously being filled as
you continually pour out....
Even the Adversary loves himself...exalting above even the Author
of Love...that's NOT the kind of example anyone should follow...
Empty yourself...regard not yourself, or how you shall live or provide...'consider
yourself as already DEAD to this life'...
Yashua gave NO example of loving Himself........"considering Himself
lower than the low...He gave Himself...that we may Live"...
***You must give to yourself and love yourself, before you can give
completely to others***
I see it as a matter of priorities...if you give completely to others,
you'll be given to by the Sustainer of us all -- much more correctly and thoroughly than you could do for yourself...and God's
approval means so much more than my own approval of myself (much more trustworthy with no self-deception)...you follow the
commandments -- love God and love one another -- and the rest will be seen to by God...
...if God loves me, what could
I possibly add to that, and why would I need to? This is not to say the opposite, to hate or ignore yourself...but to put
yourself in the proper focus -- as the Hands of God, looking to properly equip yourself, to carry out His will...
You can be rock bottom and empty inside (been there-done that)
and still give to others...in fact, the giving then is much more pure as a passing on what the Creator has, than anything
scraped up out of yourself...
It's God's prompting that has you looking outside of yourself, giving
of yourself, in the first place...He is always the focus...we were constructed with that focus in mind...His example is to
look to the needs of others...concerns of self were limited to self-assessment (to find God's perspective; and recognition
of the sinful state) and self-denial (the natural state of man is in delusion)...
...'The heart of natural man is treacherous ALWAYS -- it's the Word
of God that's True'...
I see what you guys are talking about...and it pains me to know
that it's not as simple as just wanting it to happen...
What it seems you are seeing, is far into the future...
If there was no Deciever...
If the effects of the Fall were undone...
If
we all had an intimate relationship with the Creator...
All the things you say would be true -- now...if all those conditions
were met...
Agree with all; except these two statements.(..only because
misinterpreted they mean something completely different -- and it's the way most of the population takes it...)
***it comes down to loving myself***
You accept the way God has made you, and move to become what He
wants you to become...but like any Father, He wants you to rely on Him...some self-reliance is part of maturity...but you
NEVER leave the position of relying on Him...that's what makes Him God, and you the created being...humility is what you were
calling 'being true to self'...(not to be confused with humbleness -- the words are not synonymous, neither are their concepts)...
Loving is such an active verb...and implies a certain level of energy
and attention...my reaction is to (on the face of it) the amount of that attention that's spent on the self...(if it's just
a matter-of-fact assuming 'well, I'm okay, God's seeing to it' -- as opposed to a dwelling on making the 'self' feel comfortable
and secure...it's a matter of focus and degree)...I feel too much unnecessary focus on the self is unhealthy...It all starts
from the starting point of God, not from the starting point of self...
***I do feel that we must love ourselves, so that we can give the
same to others, for if you do not love, then how can you give it....***
This is part of the reliance on God...the Author of Love gives you
the gift of Love, enabling you to give it to others...you can love others without ever being loved yourself...but if loved
by God -- the love of you by others is just gravy...
With God, we can love when we're unloved...
...when we just don't
feel like loving others...
...when the others don't deserve or care about our love...
...when it's just not in ourselves...
...when
you just can't be a generator of it yourself...
...to know when to apply love, and how to apply it...to rely on yourself
to know that is a chancy thing -- God directed is more reliable...
The 'love yourself first before you can love others' is how entropy
has things twisted...
I'm saying love others first, and the need to love yourself will
be a moot point....
