Many make this wrong assumption that loving one's self is wrong. No it's not, but we have to do it right for it to be good.
'Is There a Wrong Way to Love Myself?'
The human heart is very deceitful. What we usually say as "taking care of ourselves" could actually be being selfish. What we might say as "self-confidence" could actually be narcissism. We must remember that too much of anything is wrong, and that includes loving one's self. Loving one's self can be a good thing, but if we go overboard, we might miss it.
Loving one's self too much turns it into a host of sinful tendencies. Think about it: The desire to have much money becomes a lust for money; the desire to have fun all the time turns one into a "greedy dog" that never gets satisfied (see Isaiah 56:9-12); and the desire to overtake everyone and be the greatest makes one arrogant.
Friends, there's a better way. We must learn to love ourselves the right way.
'How Do I Love Myself the Right Way?'
The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-39, "'[y]ou must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
We can love ourselves the right way, and the way to do it can be found on what He said.
1. We Must Love God More Than Ourselves
When Christ said to "love the Lord your God with all" our heart, soul, and mind, what He meant was that God was the one who would fill our desires, dreams, ambitions, thoughts, and all that we are. He actually tells us to focus on God and not on ourselves and our desires!
Christ said something like this in Matthew 16:24 when He said "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."
We must learn to deny ourselves and instead focus on Him alone.
2. We Must Love Ourselves the Way We Want to Love Others
Some might say that we need to love ourselves first before we could love others. Christ actually told us the opposite: How we love ourselves should be the way we love others, and vice-versa. Let me explain.
Many of us have this tendency to love ourselves more than we do others. "Me before you," as some would say. It isn't wrong to take care of one's self, but would we be willing to do to others what we do to ourselves?
Would we curse others if it means they will curse us back? Will we slander anyone's name so that they would slander us, too? The best way to explain it would be, "Do to others as you would like them to do to you" (Luke 6:31).
Now, it doesn't mean we should just be thinking about them. We should think of ourselves, too. What I mean by this is that we should never love another person more than we love ourselves. Keep in mind: what we love more than ourselves become idols in our lives. Only God deserves that honour.
God Loves You
Friends, God loved us so much that He sent Christ to die for us. We must realise that because God loves us, we are valuable in His eyes, and thus we should love ourselves for His glory. We must live for Him, and not for ourselves.
