“… continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” – Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
We are examining heart matters, and the purpose of this God-given heart of yours and mine. Many people hear Jesus’ command to love their neighbour as themselves and immediately focus on loving others. This command assumes something important: that we understand how to love ourselves rightly.
Biblical self-love is not selfishness or self-indulgence. It is stewarding the soul God entrusted to us, remaining close to Him, and protecting our identity in Christ from the world’s influence. In Colossians 2, Paul outlines healthy spiritual self-love: remaining rooted in Christ, established in faith and thankfulness, and guarded against influences that distort God’s truth. We need not seek fullness from the world because we are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:6-10).
True self-love protects our relationship with God, feeds our spirit rather than the flesh, and values our identity as God’s children above worldly opinion. As such, biblical self-love equips us to love others, while a heart grounded in God’s love naturally overflows to family, neighbours, and community. Thus, the clean heart is one that remains close to Christ, guarding what God has placed within.
A practical way for us to examine our progress can be:
- Do my online viewing, scrolling, and relationships strengthen my identity in Christ, or slowly reshape my values?
- When I feel empty, do I seek God’s presence or chase approval, possessions, food, and entertainment?
- Does caring for myself help me honour God and love others, or simply protect my comfort and preferences?
The answers to these questions can give us an idea of where we are in Christ.
Prayer
Father, help me to love myself as You intended. Keep me rooted in Christ and protected from influences that draw me away from You. Cleanse my heart of pride, insecurity, comparison, and worldly thinking. Teach me to value what You value, to guard my communion with You, and to walk in the fullness of my identity in You. As You strengthen me, Lord, help me to love my neighbours with the same grace and compassion that You have shown to me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Read: Proverbs 4:23; 1 Corinthians 6:19
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 116:12-19; Colossians 1:1-23; Jeremiah 7:30-34; Jeremiah 8; Jeremiah 9:1-16