if you love God & struggle with insecurity, please understand that 'self-love' is not the answer. i thought it was for a long time. i hated my body, was massively insecure, doubted myself constantly. the world tells us we need to learn to love ourselves..

(thread. pls continue!)

but loving ourselves isn't the answer. it might feel good for a while. it might ease some temporary hurt feelings to give yourself compliments, celebrate yourself, treat yourself, etc. but the thing is - you will continue to struggle with these insecurities until you know..

who you belong to (God) and who you are in Him!! the Word already gives you ALL that you need to fight back against insecurities and the enemy's lies.

you are fearfully & wonderfully made.
you are set apart
you're chosen.
you're loved enough to be died for.
you're cared for.

you're seen, known, watched over...

the Bible doesn't tell us ANYWHERE to focus on loving ourselves, even if we are insecure because the point is JESUS - not you or i. if the focus is on loving self, the focus isn't on God. no, i don't want you to hate your body or how you look

but focusing on God and how He sees you is going to bring you more freedom and joy that "loving yourself" ever could.

when we focus on the idea of 'self-love' we take away from our focus on God. loving ourselves becomes a priority, an obsession, a constant reminder. an idol.

an idol is anything that takes up more of your mind, thoughts, and life than God does. i've been in the 'self-live' mindset. i've felt the temporary satisfication and i've also felt the freedom that God gives. guess which is better by a long shot?

when we focus on loving ourselves, we aren't focusing on God. let me get this straight: we SHOULD treat our bodies and minds lovingly. we should be good stewards of the body God gave us. we should guard our minds and speak kindly to ourselves. but part of being kind to ourselves

means letting God love us and fill us up! surrendering to God is the most loving thing you could ever do for yourself. it's the most freeing thing you'll ever know or experience besides the resurrection itself. let God love you. let Him lead you out of insecurity and into a godly

confidence rooted in the fact that You are a child of the one true God!!!! and He died for you because of His love for you!!! and He tells us we have a purpose and He has plans for us. He validates us endlessly and loves us perfectly.

we don't need to focus on self-love, we need to be focused on God's.

we're not called to love ourselves. a focus on self takes away from our focus on the Lord. yes - be kind to your mind & body. but no - don't fill your mind with thoughts that are all about you.

even if your thoughts about yourself are inherently negative and mean thoughts - they are still thoughts that are centered on SELF. not God. they are inherently selfish thoughts.

God > self. more of God, less of me. it's about HIM not us.

filling your mind with either positive or negative talk about yourself is still focusing on self and not the Lord. God tells us to focus on Him. to put Him first. to guard our hearts and minds through Him. to rest in His love. to take comfort from Him.

God's love is enough.

i'd love to chat with some of you who are struggling with this topic because i've been there and i know how hard it can be. i used be so angry when a Christian would tell me i shouldn't practice self-love. but i get it now. God's love is better. it's more than enough. DMs open