We Must Love Others First Before We Can Learn to Love Ourselves

You’ve heard it said that you must learn to love yourself before you can love others. I disagree. Loving yourself in only self-love, and rarely leads to loving others. In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazaros, we hear of a man who loved himself so much, he never recognized that the poor man outside his door needed compassion. Even in death the rich man couldn’t pass beyond his love for himself as he called, “Father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazaros that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue.” (Luke 16.24) It is only when we love others that we can finally learn to love ourselves as God desires.