Mark 12:30,31   “Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart…first commandment…Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Interesting thought, isn’t it? Please notice emphasis is on the “AS.”

It seems to me that too much attention is paid to:  “Love Thy Neighbor.”

In other words, you send out love to everybody else.

Yet, when it comes to actually loving ourselves, we so often fall short in that department.

“I’m fat.” “I’m too skinny.” etc. Something is always wrong.

We look in a mirror, and we do not like what we see.

We condemn, criticize, castigate, etc. When do we feel good about ourselves?

We are taught as children that we must not “get too puffed up” because that is a sin.

Why do we forget the “AS”? It goes on to state that there is no commandment greater than these. Yet we do not ever act as if that is true. Do we believe that could be a possibility for us?

In other words, LOVE actually begins within us – for ourselves.

Only by accepting ourselves, complete with our faults as well as our gifts, can we then actually love others.

We all have gifts to share with the world…unique, special, and one-of-a-kind.

Yet it is only when we stop beating ourselves up for our shortcomings that we can actually grow, learn, and become who we were intended to be.

When you look in a mirror in the morning, what do you see? Do you like your reflection?

Can you begin by saying, “I love me!” and give yourself a hug? Can you compliment yourself and actually mean it?

No matter how silly that sounds, it is actually the beginning of your change in attitude, towards yourself, as well as others.

Don’t you agree that this world would be a much better place if there were more LOVE in it?

It can only begin within you. Are you willing to give yourself a fresh start, NOW?