Salt in my Kitchen...series

Salt in my Kitchen

by

Jeanette Lockerbie

 

Love Thyself

 

Bible reading:

Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near--at the doors! 30 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.   
Mark 13:28:31

"Come over for a coffee break," invites a friendly neighbor. But the reply comes, "Not this morning, thanks. I'm not fit company. I don't even like myself."

This young woman had hit a crucial truth. How could she be good for another person when she was in a self-despising mood?

It would be a fallacy to suppose that anyone entirely avoids having such days. But take heart. There is a cure for depression. But it is not to be confused with the "pep pills" sold at the corner drugstore.

"Love thy neighbor as thyself," said the Psychologist of the ages, the only One who can, in an instant, probe the deepest recesses of the mind and heart.

"He could read men's hearts" (John 2:25b, Amplified).

Self-love is akin to self-respect. When the day comes that we are "down in the dumps," that is the day to get on our knees. We should pray:

"Lord Jesus, the devil is tempting me to believe I just don't count in this world. Please show me that I'm Your creation. Help me to feel I'm someone for whom You gave Your life's blood, that I am important to You."

What "mood can last in the light of such a prayer?

And, your self-love restored, you can enjoy fellowship with your neighbor.