Is it sin to hate yourself? If so, why? what is the difference between self-esteem vs loving self? Bible talks about "loving ourselves" in two places that I can find so far.
We are to "love our neighbor as ourselves" and "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself."
I don't think those versus literally mean we are to love ourselves. It means that we take care of ourselves; we tend to our own needs, generally before we tend to others' needs.
The whole "self-esteem" craze (there is even a magazine called Self) is foreign to the scriptures.
Where in the Bible does it tell us to hate ourselves? I don't think it does, not explicitly anyway.
The closet the Bible comes to saying anything, I think would be Romans 7:15.... For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
God bless,
Lisa
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters””yes, even their own life””such a person cannot be my disciple. - Luke 14:26
Hi Lisa-
It's not a matter of hating ourselves as if we are self-loathing but rather a matter of not thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought. Someone said that humility is not thinking less of outselves but thinking of ourselves less often.
Is it sin to hate yourself? If so, why? what is the difference between self-esteem vs loving self? Bible talks about "loving ourselves" in two places that I can find so far.
We should all as Christians hate the Adamic nature inside of us. The self seeking attitude inside us has to be hated. For example, if we are happy to see someone having a mishappening then it is that self will; if we find pleasure in some sin then it is to be hated.
Self-esteem means to value one self. I seriously believe that I am extremely valuable to Jesus our Lord, to God the Father. Otherwise why did Jesus come to die to me? But this value or esteem comes because we are in Jesus, not by our own means. For example it is the wine that supports the branches, as long as we stay in Jesus the wine, we will be a precious branch with fruits. The moment we esteem ourself outside Jesus it is pride. For example, if we esteem ourself for our knowledge or wealth or intelligence or beauty etc. Because we lose the value that God has put on us through his son, we become discouraged, we fall in degrading sins etc.
As Greg pointed out, Jesus wanted his disciples to hate the self. It means the self seeking attitude of us should be hated. John the Baptist said in John 3:30 - "I must decrease and Jesus must increase". In religion like Hindusim, they preach about finding the 'I' and knowing or gaining the 'I' inside us. But Christianity says the 'I' inside us should be put to death by gradually decreasing. This is the fundamental difference between Christians and pagans.
Not to be pedantic here, Doug - it depends what you mean by self-love and self-hate ;)
Roadsign once shared a dream of hers on this forum, regarding the subject of proper self-love: http://bit.ly/1QreFP2
Another article on self-love which I found insightful too is this one (by David A. Seamands, page 127): http://bit.ly/1bo212P
Ultimately, I believe that true self-love (as opposed to selfishness) is to receive the love God has for us, and accept our identity in Him.
Doug,
My perspective is that we are to love ourselves since we are made in the image of the Almighty. To hate yourself, yes, would be sin. But I wouldn't fight that negative belief with a negative. If you are loathing and hate certain things about yourself, remember, if you truly know Jesus, you have Him living inside you. He loves you so much to stay with you wherever you go, for good and for ill.
When it comes to 'hating' family or self, as it was taught by Jesus. Jesus was reestablishing the divine order. God is first. If anything comes above God, you can't be Jesus' disciple. Hating, in the gospel context, is to 'love less'. If you don't love your parents less than the Almighty, then you can't truly be Jesus' disciple.
Also, your old nature died on the cross with Jesus. You are made alive in Christ. I don't have the belief, as some, that we are wrestling with our old natures. Instead, we are wrestling with our mindsets to demonstrate Christ within us.
Bless you and hope the Lord opens your eyes to show you His expressed love in Jesus.
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