N
nuntym
Guest
+JMJ+
I read months ago (I can’t remember where though, sorry) that the reason there is no direct commandment to love oneself in Scripture is because self-love is the most ingrained instinct one has. No matter how you neglect yourself, you will, in the end, love yourself. No matter how much you hate yourself, no matter how bad your inferiority complex is, you will in the end eat when you are hungry enough, drink when you are thirsty enough, etc. Indeed, the cases that seem to be those of self-destruction or self-neglect are actually brought on by self-love. For example, those who commit suicide end their lives rather than being hurt more. The genius forgets to eat because his work gives him much pleasure. Sociopaths and psychopaths cannot love others to the level they love themselves. In fact, St. Thomas Aquinas credits inordinate self-love as the ultimate source of all sin.
Therefore, the author states that the two greatest commandments, to love God above all and to love others as yourself, is in fact a call to completely forget self for the sake of the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and trust not only God but the instincts He gave you to take care of yourself.
Out of a whim, I tried it for the past week, and it astounded me: It seemed that the more I forgot myself, the better I took care of myself than if I was looking out for myself. For example, because I wanted to make the people I meet more at ease with me, I was being more careful in cleaning and grooming myself, and I was more careful in making sure that my clothes are properly presentable. I was being more careful in what I eat because I wanted to have more energy throughout the day to serve God and men. Same goes with sleeping. And with leisures like games and reading I was being more careful in how much I do them, so that I did them when I needed to relax, but not too much so that I lose time and energy.
But the weirdest part is that it seems to make me more joyful. It is said that JOY stands for “Jesus, others, and yourself.” Well, it seems that if you took out the “Y”, that makes me even more happy!
It is, to be frank, nothing short of amazing.
I read months ago (I can’t remember where though, sorry) that the reason there is no direct commandment to love oneself in Scripture is because self-love is the most ingrained instinct one has. No matter how you neglect yourself, you will, in the end, love yourself. No matter how much you hate yourself, no matter how bad your inferiority complex is, you will in the end eat when you are hungry enough, drink when you are thirsty enough, etc. Indeed, the cases that seem to be those of self-destruction or self-neglect are actually brought on by self-love. For example, those who commit suicide end their lives rather than being hurt more. The genius forgets to eat because his work gives him much pleasure. Sociopaths and psychopaths cannot love others to the level they love themselves. In fact, St. Thomas Aquinas credits inordinate self-love as the ultimate source of all sin.
Therefore, the author states that the two greatest commandments, to love God above all and to love others as yourself, is in fact a call to completely forget self for the sake of the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and trust not only God but the instincts He gave you to take care of yourself.
Out of a whim, I tried it for the past week, and it astounded me: It seemed that the more I forgot myself, the better I took care of myself than if I was looking out for myself. For example, because I wanted to make the people I meet more at ease with me, I was being more careful in cleaning and grooming myself, and I was more careful in making sure that my clothes are properly presentable. I was being more careful in what I eat because I wanted to have more energy throughout the day to serve God and men. Same goes with sleeping. And with leisures like games and reading I was being more careful in how much I do them, so that I did them when I needed to relax, but not too much so that I lose time and energy.
But the weirdest part is that it seems to make me more joyful. It is said that JOY stands for “Jesus, others, and yourself.” Well, it seems that if you took out the “Y”, that makes me even more happy!
It is, to be frank, nothing short of amazing.
