Understanding God's Love: The Path to True Self-Love
Summary
The sermon begins with the pastor emphasizing the importance of receiving God's love as a prerequisite to loving God, our neighbors, and ourselves. He encourages the congregation to intentionally set aside time to absorb God's love, acknowledging that it can be challenging for many to accept being loved by God. The pastor references 1 John 4:19, which states that we love because God first loved us, and suggests that it is only through receiving God's love that we can love others in a healthy and ordered way.
The pastor then references a study conducted by psychiatrist and Harvard Professor George Valiant, which concluded that love is all that truly matters. He connects this idea to the Christian belief that humans are created by God for love and that Jesus summarized all the laws into the two great commandments: to love God and to love one's neighbor as oneself. The pastor emphasizes that in order to fulfill these commandments, it is crucial to first cultivate self-love.
The sermon then delves into the topic of self-love and self-care, which has become a core principle of modern wellness. The pastor clarifies that self-love is not wrong, but it can be misunderstood and misapplied in today's culture. He refers to St. Thomas Aquinas, who distinguished between ordered self-love and disordered self-love. The pastor warns that the prevalent culture promotes disordered self-love, which hinders our ability to love God and our neighbor.
The pastor addresses the issue of isolation and lack of connection that many younger Americans are experiencing. He highlights that self-love is often seen as a way to fill this void, but it is important to distinguish between properly ordered self-love and disordered self-love. The pastor encourages the congregation to reflect on whether they are loving themselves correctly and if their self-love is bringing them closer to God and others or pushing them further away.
Finally, the pastor discusses the evolution of the concept of self-love in society. He mentions a popular song by Miley Cyrus called "Flowers," which reflects the sorrow and self-isolation prevalent in the culture. The pastor suggests that this narrative of disordered self-love perpetuates a perpetual state of isolation. He urges the congregation to reflect on the impact of disordered self-love in their own lives and in the culture at large.
Key Takeaways:
- Receiving God's love is a prerequisite to loving God, our neighbors, and ourselves. It is only through receiving God's love that we can love others in a healthy and ordered way. ([12:45])
- Love is all that truly matters. This is not only a conclusion drawn from a 30-year study by a Harvard professor but also a core belief in Christianity. To fulfill the two great commandments of loving God and our neighbor, we must first cultivate self-love. ([22:30])
- Self-love is not wrong, but it can be misunderstood and misapplied in today's culture. Ordered self-love draws us closer to God and our neighbor, fostering communion, while disordered self-love leads to selfishness, self-preoccupation, and self-isolation. ([34:15])
- The prevalent culture promotes disordered self-love, which hinders our ability to love God and our neighbor. It's important to reflect on whether our self-love is bringing us closer to God and others or pushing us further away. ([45:20])
- The narrative of disordered self-love perpetuates a perpetual state of isolation. This is reflected in popular culture, such as in Miley Cyrus's song "Flowers," and it's crucial to reflect on the impact of disordered self-love in our own lives and in the culture at large. ([58:10])
Study Guide
Bible Reading:
1. Matthew 22:37-39: "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
2. 1 John 4:19: "We love because he first loved us."
Observation Questions:
1. What are the two greatest commandments according to Matthew 22:37-39?
2. In 1 John 4:19, what is the reason given for our ability to love?
Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the commandment to love God and our neighbor relate to the concept of self-love as described in Matthew 22:37-39?
2. How does the understanding of God's love for us, as stated in 1 John 4:19, influence our ability to love ourselves and others?
Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your daily routine. Can you identify a specific time slot where you can intentionally absorb God's love?
2. Think about your understanding of self-love. Is it bringing you closer to God and others, or pushing you further away? Give a specific example.
3. Can you identify a popular culture reference that promotes disordered self-love? How can you counteract this narrative in your own life?
4. Reflect on a recent instance where you felt isolated or disconnected. How might a proper understanding and application of self-love have changed that situation?
5. Identify one person in your life who you find difficult to love. How can understanding God's love for you help you love this person better?
Devotional
Day 1: Embracing God's Love
God's love is the foundation of our ability to love Him, our neighbors, and ourselves. It can be challenging to accept this love, but it is only through receiving it that we can love others in a healthy and ordered way. [12:45]
Ephesians 3:17-19 - "So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
Reflection: How can you intentionally set aside time today to absorb God's love? What might be hindering you from fully receiving His love?
Day 2: The Primacy of Love
Love is the essence of our existence. It is not only a conclusion drawn from a scientific study but also a core belief in Christianity. To fulfill the two great commandments of loving God and our neighbor, we must first cultivate self-love. [22:30]
1 Corinthians 13:13 - "So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
Reflection: How can you cultivate self-love today in a way that aligns with God's commandments? How does this self-love enable you to love God and your neighbor?
Day 3: Ordered Self-Love
Self-love is not inherently wrong, but it can be misunderstood and misapplied. Ordered self-love draws us closer to God and our neighbor, fostering communion, while disordered self-love leads to selfishness, self-preoccupation, and self-isolation. [34:15]
Proverbs 19:8 - "Whoever gets sense loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will discover good."
Reflection: Reflect on your understanding of self-love. Is it ordered or disordered? How does your self-love affect your relationship with God and others?
Day 4: The Pitfalls of Disordered Self-Love
The prevalent culture promotes disordered self-love, which hinders our ability to love God and our neighbor. It's important to reflect on whether our self-love is bringing us closer to God and others or pushing us further away. [45:20]
2 Timothy 3:2 - "For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy."
Reflection: How has the culture's narrative of self-love influenced your understanding and practice of self-love? How can you ensure your self-love is ordered and God-centered?
Day 5: The Isolation of Disordered Self-Love
The narrative of disordered self-love perpetuates a perpetual state of isolation. This is reflected in popular culture and it's crucial to reflect on the impact of disordered self-love in our own lives and in the culture at large. [58:10]
1 Corinthians 13:4-5 - "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful."
Reflection: How has disordered self-love contributed to feelings of isolation in your life? How can you shift towards ordered self-love that fosters connection with God and others?
Quotes
1. "A summation of his findings with this he says love is all that really matters when he looked at those 300 people the course of 30 Years love is all that really matters." (#00:40)
2. "We know deep within us when we're May void of Love or we're falling short in giving charity or receiving love we don't need a Harvard Professor or psychiatrist to tell us this that love is at the end of the day all that really matters." (#01:47)
3. "I'm not going to say self-love is wrong because it's not but it can be and we're increasingly getting it wrong today and it's too important to get wrong because if we get self-love wrong, we really can't love God and we can't love our neighbor." [03:40]
4. "Disordered self-love takes the form of self-absorption, it's too much focus on the self, it cuts us off from Comm Comm Union, it cuts us off from our relational identity, and it is the disordered self-love that we have been Spades today in the culture that's pushed on us and that's how to operate, and it's keeping us then therefore from love of God and from love of neighbor." [05:03]
5. "The proper antidote is the ordered self-love and we know we're practicing healthy self-love when we feel connected to God and we feel connected to others when we're in Union with God and others." [10:29]
6. "The key prerequisite forget it so that same Harvard professor and psychiatrist that and he summed up his 30 years of following the the the 300 people he also said this it is very hard for most of us to tolerate being loved the hardest thing about love for most people is being loved to tolerate to tolerate being loved first." [12:00]
7. "I can't love God and my neighbor and have proper self-love if I'm not first receiving the love of God." [12:55]
8. "When was the last time you absorbed God's love for you, really received it, really like soaked it in and sat with it? Do you know that this week? Give Him 30 minutes this week, have it on the calendar, have it in your head. These 30 minutes I'm going to ask Him and I'm gonna go into these 30 minutes with the intent to just solely, simply receive the Father's Love For Me." [13:39]
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