Most people do not wish to be unhappy all of the time, yet there are some who never seem to be happy or content. Perhaps it is not that they are angry or sad, just that they don’t seem to be happy and that unhappiness sometimes manifests itself in their interactions with others – they are just not pleasant people to be around. Maybe you ae one of those people. It usually starts with not loving or being comfortable with yourself.
“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.” – Lucille Ball
I’ve posted here a few times on this topic, but when I saw that Lucille Ball quote recently it inspired me to write about it again. Insecurity about yourself or perhaps self-loathing puts one into a defensive frame of mind that discourages reaching out to others. There is a downward spital that starts with the belief that nobody likes me and progresses through the thought – I don’t even like me. It is a destructive, self-imposed loneliness which can lead to depression and worse.
The advice that Lucille Ball gave in her quote is a key step to break out of that mental state of self-hate, but there is a precursor to that step – accepting God’s love for you. Take a moment to think about and accept God’s unconditional love for you. It’s a love so strong that he gave his only son to die on the cross to save you. You cannot hide from God’s love. You cannot refuse God’s love. You don’t have to do anything to earn God’s love. You just need to accept it.
Once you accept that God loves you unconditionally, you can move on to the thought that, “If God can love me, I can love myself and who I am.” Then, as Lucille Ball said, “everything else falls into line.”
There is a sign in front of a church in Milford that reads, “Make God Smile, Accept his Forgiveness.” The sign could have said “accept his love” and made the same sense. God’s love for us was shown in his forgiving our sins through Christ on the cross and promising us everlasting life. So maybe the title for this post should have been “Start with God…” and then you can take of you. Everything else will fall in line.
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