You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30) 

When we love Christ above all, then all loves find their proper order and proportion in our lives. Jesus explained that our first priority should be to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

When our love for God becomes our highest priority, then that love helps us to love what and whom he loves. Since he loves our neighbor, we do. Since, he loves us, there is a proper love for self, too. 

Does that sound strange? It won’t, when we are trying to help a young person caught in an addictive or self-destructive life pattern. Then, we naturally say, “Jesus loves you,” knowing that, when the person values themselves as Jesus does, new life is possible. 

Self-love is destructive if it’s our first priority. But, if Jesus is our first priority, then protecting and promoting the health of one he loves is a priority that he uses to bring beauty and health to broken lives.

We honor the God who made us when we treat our bodies, souls, and consciences with his care. Neglecting or beating up on ourselves never honors the One who made us a temple for his Holy Spirit.

Prayer:
Lord, help me to find the beauty and health that come from loving you as my first priority and then, discovering that loving what and whom you love instills proper love for the unlovely, the broken, and – me!