Self-Love: The Greatest Commandment (Mark 12:31)
Hello, beautiful, and welcome back to another episode of the Significance series. I'm Regina Coley, your host, and I'm so thrilled that you are here with me again today. In this podcast, we inspire every woman and girl to discover her godly significance, wield her unique brilliance, and courageously mark her path in life while staying deeply rooted in her faith and biblical values. Today's episode is titled self love, the greatest commandment, which is inspired by Mark 12:31. We'll dive into what it means to truly love yourself as a part of fulfilling the greatest commandment given to us by Jesus.
Speaker 1:But before we begin, let's open up in prayer. Dear heavenly father, we come before you with thankful hearts. We ask for your presence and guidance as we explore the topic of self love through your word. Help us to understand and embrace the love you have for us so that we may extend that love to ourselves and others. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Speaker 1:So you know what to do. Grab that Bible, open up that Bible app, and let's start by reading Mark 12:31. The second is this, love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. This verse is a part of a response that Jesus gives when asked about the greatest commandment.
Speaker 1:He pairs loving our neighbors with loving God, emphasizing the importance of love in our lives. So in Mark 12, Jesus is being questioned by a scribe about the most important commandment. And then Jesus responds by quoting the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, calling us to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all of our strength. And then importantly, he adds this second commandment, which is to love your neighbor as yourself. This addition underscores that loving others is intrinsically tied to how we love ourselves.
Speaker 1:So this passage teaches us that self love isn't about vanity. It's not about selfishness, but it's about recognizing and honoring our worth as creations of God. And by understanding and accepting God's love for us, we equip ourselves to love others genuinely and more effectively. So in my own journey, I have often struggled with the idea of self love. And society equates self love with selfishness, but through my faith, I've learned that it's quite the opposite.
Speaker 1:Real love comes from a place of understanding that we are God's beloved children, his daughters, created with purpose and value. And it's important that from this understanding, we can genuinely love and care for other people. You guys know, and I've shared this before, that there was a time I felt so overwhelmed with negative self talk, insecurities. It just felt like everybody around me was doing way better, although we were in the same boat, in the same path, around the same age, living in the same community, and it's easy. We are online now.
Speaker 1:Everybody is oversharing everything, so you're constantly seeing things. And without the right mindset, you won't learn how to celebrate your sister without getting jealous or without side eyeing or questioning your own self. So I understood why the negative self talk was there. I understood why the insecurity was there, but I just couldn't shake it. And I knew that I had to become more mature in God, to be able to really deepen my relationship, really begin to see myself through his eyes.
Speaker 1:So one day during my quiet time, I felt this pull to start affirming myself with scripture. And then when I got on YouTube, I remember seeing Christian affirmations from some of my favorite ministry leaders and speakers who just have put together these awesome videos that I started playing. And I started saying to myself, when I'm in the car, I'm gonna listen to these. You know, they're they're played over soft music, so it's almost like a call and response. Like that person says it and then they leave some silence for you to say it over yourself.
Speaker 1:So I started affirming myself that way, every time I got in the car because it's like, this is a moment where I can either sit quietly and think negatively or I can be proactive and start speaking the positives. So that's exactly transformed by the renewing of our minds. And so, if my mind is filled with thinkin' think it and I'm not really feeling it with things that show that I love myself, then where can that transformation come through? Okay. I gotta renew my mind.
Speaker 1:I gotta refresh the things that are already programmed here, and say that this is not the way I wanna continue going. And when you really get deep in the word, and you really start listening and understanding and studying, you begin to experience God's love in a more profound way. And it's gonna help you extend that love to other people because you realize and all of your crusty dustiness and all of the foolishness that you've done in your life that God can love you unconditionally around me. And we know we live in the world together like you live here like I live here. Are around me.
Speaker 1:And we know we live in the world together like you live here like I live here. That doesn't always happen. But we're supposed to be the believers. We're supposed to be the image bearers. We're supposed to be the daughters of the king who are treating people this way.
Speaker 1:But yet it's not what we do. And so it really boils back down to this, do you even love yourself enough to show love to me? And if not, then that's something that we've got to fix. And so today's, lesson, I hope would just help you to understand that self love isn't about acknowledging, you know, like, I just got a manicure. I love myself.
Speaker 1:Like, no. It's about understanding your worth as a creation of God, how much He loves you, how much He poured into you, how special you are for Him. Like, and once you understand that, then you can equip yourself with that same level of love and you'll start putting them into practice and you can start to love and serve other people through an extension of the love that you've already given yourself. And so some of the tips that I want to share with you, today are just being able to understand how to love yourself. I know that that's hard and so I was like, what are some biblical examples of practicing self love?
Speaker 1:So I have 3 that I want to share with you. And if you don't already have your journal, you wanna go over to motivator.shop, grab some of our beautiful inspirational journals there to take notes in while you are following this awesome series. So one of the ways that, I found in the Bible is a good way to practice self love is Jesus taking time to rest. So in Mark 6:31, Jesus says to his disciples, come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. So even Jesus recognized the importance of rest for himself and his disciples.
Speaker 1:And following this example, we should make time for rest and self care. And I know that we live in a hustle world, the world that tells us to grind, stay up till you get it, use your hours wisely, and yada yada yada. I highly recommend you do not follow or subscribe to hustle culture. I just subscribe to slow success in the sense of my days are orchestrated and intentional in a way that doesn't lead to burnout. And it's filled with rest and restoration.
Speaker 1:Not just overwhelmed and constantly feeling like I have to do to be important. I think that that's also leading to a lack of self love because you feel like if you're not doing stuff, then you're not important. It doesn't matter what you do, you're still important. If you're doing one thing or 10,000 things, like but one of us us is gonna be rested and the other one is gonna be out of their mind. And I hope that you are not the person who is out of your mind.
Speaker 1:Take the time to rest, recharge, and really prioritize self care as it was modeled for us by Jesus. The second tip I wanna share with you is that David encouraged himself in the Lord. In first Samuel 36, we read that David was greatly distressed, but David found strength in the Lord his God. He was facing despair, but he encouraged himself That is what the Word of God is there for. There's so much scripture to help you out.
Speaker 1:That is what the word of God is there for. There's so much scripture to help you in moments where you just don't know what to do. You don't know where to turn. We turn to God always. We listen to faith filled messages, faith filled podcasts.
Speaker 1:We read books that encourage us, but if you have nothing else, the only resource you have is your Bible, that's the only resource that you need. I hope that this series is encouraging, but I don't want you to be a person who has to go through other people to get the word. The word is accessible to you as well. So encourage yourself by reading it daily. Speak those things over yourself and be strengthened by them.
Speaker 1:Encourage yourself. You do not have to wait for other people to do it for you. And the 3rd practice I want to share with you is to honor your body. 1st Corinthians 6 19 19 through 20 says, do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in you? Therefore, honor God with your bodies.
Speaker 1:This teaches us that taking care of our physical health, whether from a proper diet, exercise, or rest, is a form of self love and honor to God. I took this a step further because I felt like most of my, health needs could come from growing fruits and vegetables. We got into, like, this whole thing of gardening and homesteading, and of course now I wanna have a farm that's neither here nor there. Got into really studying herbs and how herbs can help to heal the body, help to maintain the body, and keep it optimal health and now I am a certified herbalist And I'm working now to become a clinical herbalist, but I wanted to be able to share with other people how the use of herbs and having teas and what we're putting into our body can help sustain us. That God gave us these seeds and he gave us these plants to take care of ourselves, and it just became this other way for me to honor God, but also to honor my body.
Speaker 1:And I know that I'm talking to a lot of women and girls on here, especially moms who have daughters, And we topics come up about honoring your body, protecting your body, and taking care of your body. And there's a lot of conversations that you will have with your daughters or young ladies, your nieces, your goddaughters, that really just center around the body. And it's so important for them to just understand it's a temple. The same when you walk into a temple and you that thing is holy, and you don't just say whatever in there. You don't do whatever in there.
Speaker 1:You're mindful of the way you present. It's the same way that you gotta present yourself and your body, as a young lady. And I feel like that's a whole another conversation for another day, which I would love to delve further into because it's so critical. It's so, so important as we talk about things like this and about self love. It is the body.
Speaker 1:That's the thing you carry with you every day. It's the vessel in which you get to do work. It's the vessel that you use to speak and to think and to care and to nurture and to carry life. So we have to take care of the body, like, of above all else. I believe that's where your self care should begin, is studying.
Speaker 1:What does a proper diet look like? Is is that what I'm putting in my body every day, or am I putting McDonald's in my body every day? No shades of McDonald's, but you know what I mean. Like, fast food, processed foods, are you having a balance of things so that you're not having to deal with the in the the outcome of imbalance, which happens because we don't put the right stuff in our body. Are you giving yourself rest?
Speaker 1:Are you getting up and moving? Do you go for a walk after dinner or do you just lay across the couch because you are so full from your food? You know, we we have a lot of habits and practices that we've got to put in place so that we can continue to honor our body in order to honor God. So your action steps for this self love journey. Of course, stick them around your daily affirmations.
Speaker 1:I've told you what I do. Affirm yourself with scripture. There's a lot of quotes out there like I'm being my best self, I'm powerful, I'm capable, I'm this, I'm that. Those are wonderful, but what does the Bible say about who you are as well? Like, mix and match.
Speaker 1:Mix and match. But I highly recommend just speaking solely scripture because you don't have to incorporate anything else unless you want to. But speak that scripture over yourself. Put those reminders all throughout your house, throughout your car. If you're a student, in your locker, at your in your desk, like inside your pencil pouch, everything you touch, like, something should be reminding you every single day, affirming who you are.
Speaker 1:Again, go to motivator.shop. Shop our back to school supply, you know, inventory because this is what we do. We want girls and women to be affirmed constantly, so that's exactly what we have done. We've created some great, merch that you can purchase that is just gonna inspire you every day you look at it. And then again, getting those self care practices in place, making them routine.
Speaker 1:Spend time in nature. I love being outside. I hate the bugs, honestly. It's just it's what it is. It's a byproduct of being outside.
Speaker 1:But getting outside, getting some sun on your face, walk, enjoy a hobby that you love, just prioritize activities that uplift you, encourage you, watch shows that uplift you and encourage you, that, you know, leave you with that feel good feeling that releases serotonin, oxytocin in the brain, that just make you feel these splendid feelings of love. That is a pleasure that you should enjoy every single day. And I know you. You've been listening to this series, so you know how much I value journaling. If you are journaling, I want you this week to reflect on God's love for your for you, and then how you can embody that love in your daily life.
Speaker 1:How are you showing love to yourself? How are you showing love to others? I've learned years ago that once you learn how to love yourself, the next place that you go is to show love to people in your household, then extend that to your neighbors, then out into your community, then into the world. You cannot put out into the world what doesn't already exist within yourself. So fill your cup up, and let everything that you pour inside of you flow out of you and flow into others.
Speaker 1:It just will have a flow to it, because you're just gonna continue, obviously, routinely, to pour into yourself and to show yourself some love. And then I want you to get connected to community. I cannot tell you on the days where you feel like, I just don't got it in me. I don't I don't even have the words. I can't do it.
Speaker 1:Your community will pull you, reel you in, pray for you, love on you, and help you get back on track. And I know a lot of adults, too many women, breaks my heart, that are always saying, I don't have friends. I'm trying to make friends. I I ask people to show up and go places with me. They don't.
Speaker 1:I ask people, invite people to my birthday party. They don't come like grown women. Why? Why are we doing this? Like get tapped into a community.
Speaker 1:Start with a small group in your church, bible study in your church, you know, walk over to a neighbor's house, introduce yourself. We are no longer in the world of, you know, everybody's afraid of each other, we're cautious, we're careful, but we're just not connected like we used to be. And I think that's like a quest I'm on as a CEO. It's like, how do we get back to a place where we can create a culture of community and communal support and communal resources? There are some people who experience that daily, but there are so few who don't and it's just on my heart to do that.
Speaker 1:So if you ever wanted to be like, hey, I wanna join in on that quest too. Just a little sidebar, email me. Let's get into it together. We've got a world to change out here. Alright.
Speaker 1:Those are all my tips for today. I wanna close the silent prayer if that's okay with you. Dear Lord, thank you for reminding us of our worth and value in your eyes. Help us to embrace self love as a part of your greatest commandments. Guide us to love ourselves as you love us so that we can extend that love to others.
Speaker 1:In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Well, that is all for today's episode on self love. Remember, loving yourself is a vital part of fulfilling God's greatest commandment. Commandment. Embrace your worth and let that love overflow to the people who are around you.
Speaker 1:In our next episode, we're gonna be discussing radiating authenticity and letting your light shine, which is inspired by Matthew 5 16. You don't wanna miss it. So thank you so much for joining me today. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who might be blessed by it. Don't forget to connect with me on social media atmotivator and visit the website over atmotivator.com.
Speaker 1:I love hearing from you. We are here to support you on your journey. Until next time, keep shining your brilliance and stay rooted in your faith. God bless.
