Self-love: Is it evil or good? (Why do God's people Sin?)

Who dressed it? (Luke 12:27-28)

"Love  your self, for if you don't, how can you expect anybody else to love you?"(Author unknown)

The Apostle John says "God's people do not 'continue' to sin". Question then becomes, "Why do God's people sin?"

In associating myself with and praying for a friend of mine whom I have known for virtually a life time, it dawned on me one day that the answer is hidden in the effect sin does to a man. Sinning is the worst and final act of self-hatred, just as  it is written: "the wages of sin is death".

The antidote to (or prescription for) the self-hatred is 'self-love'.

Self-love however is often misunderstood as evil. The proponents of this idea might recite for you Bible verses like:

- the man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:25)

- if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

But remember that the object of hatred is not the life per se, but your life "in this world". What John 12:25 promotes is not 'self-hatred' but 'self-love', that is, loving your 'self' (or life) by going for the life not in this world (whose ruler is the devil), but the 'eternal' life in the Lord - the life that is hidden in Jesus Christ! (Col 3:3-4).

Self-denial speaks NOT against, but FOR the self-love, for it targets to shoot down the old sinful self, only to embrace and nurture  the 'new self' found in Jesus Christ just as you are exhorted to put off the old self and put on the new self (Ephesians 4:22-24; Col 3:10).

So then consider the Word of the Lord:

"I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jer 31:3), or simply "I have loved  you" (John 13:34; 15:9, 12; Rev 3:9).

You might wish to quote, "Esau I have hated" (Mal 1:3; Rom 9:13). But I would refer you to the discussion on the old self vs. new self, for Esau stands for godlessness, whereas Jacob godliness. God hates godlessness, for no one is self-sufficient in himself or herself alone; man is self-sufficient only to the extent that he remains godly (or in the relationship with God) so he can be God-sufficient, for God alone is self-sufficient (Ex 3:14).

Again sinning is the final act of self-hatred. So you sin due to you not practising the call to 'love' yourself as God has loved you. The root cause of sin always lies in you not 'loving' yourself.

Let me ask you a question: who gave you life? (Gen 2:7)

Who are you that you hate what God has given you?

One word: "I have loved you with everlasting love."