"Audrynn, who does the Bible say you should love first?" Without hesitation, she said, God. I then asked her another question, "Who should you love second?" She immediately said her friends, family and all people. I then told her, "You know, I have thought the same thing since I was a young girl too, that I should love others first after God." But recently in the past few years, I have realized that God does not want us to love others first after Him. Do you know who He wants us to love after Him? ...YOU! When I finally received this revelation (although I still sometimes have to remind myself), I was no longer bothered by what people had to say about me.
You see, we are taught from the time we are little to always put others first, which is all good. But if you don't love yourself, you will not be able to love others. You will instead be validated by what people say about you instead of what God says about you. The Bible says to, "Love your neighbor as yourself!" -Mark 12:31. It says in Psalm 139, that we are intricately wrought in your Mother's womb and that we have a purpose on this earth to do incredible things that only WE can do.
Let me give you an example: What if a mother and a young child were on an airplane and the plane has problems and starts to crash? The stewardess immediately commands everyone to put on their oxygen masks. Should the mom put her mask on her child first and then put hers on? Or should she put her mask on first and then help put on her child's mask? Audrynn thought about it and said, "The mother should probably put her mask on first." I asked her why? She said, "Because she could possibly die while putting on her child's mask and then the child will be left without a mother." I told her she was right and that it's the same thing with our everyday life. I don't mean you should spend hours in front of the mirror and put yourself first in line, or think you're better than anyone else. I mean, you should always be filled up with what God says about you and be ready to fight off the wrong things and hurting people in life the right way. Just like the mom needed to put on her oxygen mask first, You need to make sure you put on your whole armor of God first before you leave your bedroom - Ephesians 6 You need to love yourself, and know how much Jesus loves you! Then those kids wouldn't even bother you. In fact, you probably would see that they have wounds that haven't been healed yet. That's why they are mean. You would have compassion and pray for them instead of believing what they said about you.”
Thankfully, she left our conversation encouraged and empowered to not take what they said so personal. I think we are missing it. (me included) We forget to love ourselves first. We should take care of our body first, our emotions first, and our spiritual health first before we try to help others. Society thinks it's prideful to love ourselves first, but if we love ourselves first in the right way, we will end up making much more of a difference in people’s lives than we could have ever imagined. No-one will believe God is real if all they see is someone who is always sad, depressed, sick, has low self-esteem or doesn't feel loved.
So I would like to encourage you today, no matter what you are going through, learn to love yourself before others; be filled up with what God says about you. Be bold, brave, and courageous because the Lord your God, your creator, is with you wherever you go. I guarantee you will no longer care what people say about you and the best part is, you will be a person who is truly happy and at peace with who they are.
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| Erica Marie Foster |
Erica Marie Foster has a passion for encouraging mothers. Through her transparent writing, speaking and coaching, she boldly shares her fierce love for Jesus and her children. She uses the Bible and real-life stories to help mothers live with faith, freedom, and purity so that they will embrace the call to love and raise their children to know God. Erica resides in Columbus, Ohio, and is a single mother to 5 children. In her free time, she loves to write, sing, spend time with her family, play sports and be outside enjoying God’s creation.
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