What is your attitude toward yourself? Do you like yourself?
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What is your attitude toward yourself? Do you like yourself?
These are important questions to honestly consider because when people don’t like themselves, it causes problems in every relationship they have.
I spent many years not liking myself, and even had some self-hatred and self-rejection. My father sexually abused me throughout my childhood, and for a long time, I felt shame because I thought it was my fault – that he did those things to me because something was wrong with me.
But I eventually realized that it was not my fault. And I want you to know that if someone has devalued you, mistreated you, misjudged you, or done something that has left you wounded, their ignorance is not your fault. I also want to encourage you to forgive them, because if you don’t, it will only give them power over your life and keep you from being what God has created you to be.
Before God revealed the root of my problem, I was a very frustrated Christian. As I studied the Bible, I saw how God wants us to love others – that we should forgive those who hurt us, consider others before ourselves, be merciful and gracious – but I couldn’t do it.
However, when I realized I couldn’t love because I wasn’t receiving God’s love for me and then loving myself, it was life-changing! It took about a year of studying about the love of God in the Bible and praying for Him to change my heart before I really got a revelation of God’s love for ME. But when that breakthrough finally happened, it was so wonderful because I could love – and even like – myself. And I could begin loving others the way God loves me!
You know, we can’t give away what we don’t have, so we have to receive God’s love before we can love ourselves or others.