Love your neighbor as yourself

Jesus said, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’  Only when we accept ourselves as fundamentally good, and begin to love ourselves, will we be able to start loving other people as the Lord commanded.

Unless we love ourselves we cannot love others properly.  So to begin with we must love ourselves.  But if we love ourselves in the wrong way, then we become incapable of loving anyone else.  Few love themselves in such a way as to be able to love others properly.

There is an idea that love of self is wrong, even sinful.  There is, of course, a form of self-love which is wrong.  We call it selfishness or egoism.  But there is a form of self-love which is healthy and good, and without which we cannot really love others.

You can’t fly without wings.  You can’t grow without roots.  We can’t offer warmth to others if our own fireplace is cold and empty.  We can only love with the amount of love that is in us.  Whether we are conscious of it or not, we do love others precisely as we love ourselves.

It’s very important, then, to have a healthy love and respect for ourselves.  This is where love starts, but of course it is not meant to end there.  All true love of self overflows in the form of love of others and of God.

It’s easy to love certain people because they are loveable.  But not so easy to love others, who are clearly and obviously flawed.  But that is the real test of love.  Where there is no love, sow love, and you will reap love.  Where there is no love, put love, and you will find love.

Reflection – New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies by Flor McCarthy, SDB