But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good.” 2 Timothy 3.1-3.
Jesus in response to the question on the signs of the end times listed certain things to look out for. Obviously, they are not good omen. Paul, in the same manner warned Timothy on the signs of the end times. He made it clear that in the last days, all kinds of chaos will unleash. The first on the list of the signs is “People will be lovers of self.”
Self-love is promoted today as the new accepted religion. The Roman Empire had its religio-licita, and today’s West has its own. To love the self is the greatest of all religions for many people today.
Whereas Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. Mark 8:34,35
Drawing a contrast between loving God and loving self, Jesus further taught, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12.31.
Jesus while summarising the The Law concluded everything on love. He did not just command to love God and the neighbour, but also commanded how to love both. He said we must love God with our “All” heart, soul, mind and strength. He also commanded us to “love your neighbour as yourself”.
This does not contradict the earlier point on self-denial, if truly study and understand Jesus’ context.
First, Jesus never said, love your neighbour as you love yourself, as many people wrongly twist the verse today. He only said, love your neighbour as yourself. People misquote this on purpose, to make an argument for self-love. They say, if you don’t love yourself, how will you be able to love your neighbour?
To “love your neighbour as yourself” means to treat others as you would want to be treated. It means to remember that you and they are, essentially, the same—not identical, but substantially the same. That they, too have similar needs and desires, hopes and fears, limitations and weaknesses as you. That they are your equals, made in the image of God as His children. That they, too, are creatures of infinite worth and dignity. They are frail and finite, weak and wilful, selfish and stupid, deprived and depraved – just as you are.
In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.” Ephesians 5.28-30.
Jesus’ teachings on self-denial and loving others do not neglect the need to look after yourself or take a good care of yourself. Jesus is only concerned that we don’t get fixated on self-worship or become self-centred. It is so easy to love self too much, especially when our love for God and the things of God have gone down. We begin to yield to the dictates of the flesh against the will of the Spirit
Paul while teaching about love between husband and wife commanded husbands to love wives as their own bodies. He said, no one’s hates his own body, but feeds it and nourishes it, just as Christ feeds and nourishes the church.
Love is not an intra-personal thing but inter-personal. It takes two or more to love and be loved in return.
Some people by their actions love no else except themselves. That is not love but selfishness.
May God teach us to love Him with our all, and to love others as ourselves