How to Love our Enemies Pt.2

So, yesterday I started a series of posts on loving those that don't like us. Sorry it's taken so long to get this one up. We've had a busy day trying to get our websites running.

Let's hop right back.

Accepting Yourself
Funny that accepting ourselves is actually a way of loving someone else, and yes, even someone that isn't fond of us. But it's true. In Mark 12:31 Jesus says, "Love your neighbor as yourself."

How can I love my neighbor as myself if I don't love myself? Now, there is a difference between loving ourselves and being self-focused and prideful. We can love ourselves by looking at ourselves through Jesus' eyes.

I struggle with this one, and a few ways I have learned to love myself through His eyes are:

• Prayer, prayer, prayer! He loves me, created me, and knows me more intimately than anyone else. Asking Him for the ability to perceive myself through His eyes.
  
• Trash the fear of failure and allow room for growth.
  
• Learning to view my weaknesses differently, as a way for God to allow someone else to bless me through Him.
  
• Not comparing myself to others. OH, a biggy!
  
• Being watchful of the movies I watch, and books I read (or any entertainment, like the computer). They tend to create a fantasy world that we often envy when things aren't going perfect in our lives.
  
• Rest in God. Not overwhelming myself with demands and expectations that God does not desire from me.
  
• Accepting that His hand does not make mistakes.
  

In a nutshell, accepting ourselves can help us love those that hate us because 1.) we do not seek their affirmation, and 2.) we do not envy.

We learn to accept who God made us to be, seek Him (and only Him) for affirmation, and then the harsh comments thrown at our hearts will be unable to create a wound. The arrows will bounce right off, because we know that our identity and worth is not dependant on anyone else.