The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
The King of Israel!”

— John 12:12-13

Today, Christians throughout the world will celebrate what many consider our holiest week of the year on what is popularly known as Palm Sunday. It commemorates one of the few events in the life of Jesus recorded in all four gospel stories: his entry into Jerusalem, followed by a raucous and warm welcome and a lot of waving branches. (Only John 12:13 mentions they were palms.) In Israel today, churches still reenact the journey from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem—the route supposedly taken by Jesus all those centuries ago.

As I study this story in Scripture, I’m struck by the fact that the primary symbol for this day—a palm—was not chosen by Jesus. John writes, “took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!”” (John 12:13). Why did the crowd choose palm branches? It could simply have been that palms were nearby. But history tells us there might have been a deeper reason: Those plants were symbolically linked to military victories and the Messiah.

First Maccabees, a book not included in Protestant Bibles, is the most extensive source of information on events in Judea from 175 to 135, and a generation before Jesus, when Simon Maccabee drove Israel’s enemies out of Jerusalem, people celebrated by waving palm branches:

On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the one hundred seventy-first year, the Jews entered it with praise and palm branches, and with harps and cymbals and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel. (1 Maccabees 13:51)

Jews during this period connected palm branches to the expectation of the Messiah. So when Jesus entered Jerusalem, people used them to interpret his identity. He was another Simon Maccabee—a long-hoped-for king who would drive out the Gentiles.

All the Gospels are clear that Jesus chose a symbol, a way for his people to make sense of his kingship. But it was the young donkey, not the palm branch (John 12:14). John rightly sees the donkey as Jesus intended. It was the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, which says, ““Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Jesus picked a symbol that emphasized humility and lowliness instead of military strength. That fact should inform how we celebrate and remember his entry into Jerusalem. Of course, it would be impractical for every church across the globe to find a donkey to drag into and out of its sanctuary. But we can spend Palm Sunday reflecting on what it means to follow a king who rejected the way of violence.

As we look to the donkey, not the palm, what practices might it inspire? What aspects of American Christian culture might it critique?

For some, their expressions of Christianity are too confident in our own judgment of others. They’re convinced that they are right and their enemies are not just wrong but evil. They profess that Jesus must hate the same things they hate when often they are putting words in Jesus’s mouth that was never recorded as him speaking. Jesus did not (nor could he have foreseen) that some Christians would attempt to establish their rule by distorting the words of Jesus, one angry tweet and fiery comment at a time. And so on Palm Sunday, they pick up their palm branches and raise their shouts in support of the Jesus they’ve created in their minds, not the crucified Messiah—whose rule is rooted and grounded in love. He has become a rallying cry for their agenda, not His.

As Russell Moore writes, “Jesus is right in saying this sort of hatred and violence never leads where we think it will—to a vanquishing of all of our enemies and to a victory for ‘us,’ whoever ‘us’ is.” We have forgotten that the world is both the object of God’s affection and a place in rebellion against its creator. Christian faithfulness involves holding these things in tension. Many Christians have granted so many exceptions to the love command that it’s almost empty of meaning. They have hoarded God’s grace for themselves while refusing to offer it to others. They shout about Jesus but do not pay attention to His own words and actions.

Jesus’s claim to be the Messiah was not simply about a goal—God’s rule over all things. He and the crowd agreed on that point. His earthly life and ministry were also about the means of accomplishing that goal: namely, sacrificial love. Jesus gave us not only the gift of forgiveness, flowing through his Passion and resurrection, but also a way to follow. Too many Christians, in their desire to defeat who they see as enemies, have lost Christian virtues—the fruit of the Spirit.

As these same people who called themselves Christian strive to establish God’s rule through self-assertion over neighborly care, pragmatism over principle, and malice over love, then whatever else they think they accomplish, they are not following in the way Jesus taught. God chose meekness, integrity, and love to gather his people. That is the message of Palm Sunday. For all the shouts of acclamation, Jesus never lost sight of the cross. This Holy Week and all the weeks of the year, let’s follow Jesus, who sat atop a donkey so that He can remind us again how to best follow his example.

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

—Romans 12:3

Probably no part of our inner life is more fragile and important than our self-concept. Parents must wisely help children develop a healthy concept of self. With the laws being passed to deny transgender children the healthcare they need and deserve, it is more important than ever that parents encourage their children to develop a healthy concept of who they are. All of us, in all stages of life, are shaped by our self-concept more than we often realize.

In the verse above, Paul cautions us, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.” It’s easy for us to think highly of ourselves—or at least to sound as if we do. We can express pride so easily. It seems to me that there are also many times when we think too lowly of ourselves. I know I am guilty of this more so than thinking too highly of myself. A lack of self-esteem is a struggle for many of us. We remember so well what we can’t do or what we haven’t done well. We quickly look at others as they have superior abilities and feel inadequate.

It’s more than self-esteem, though. It is harder for children and young adults to have self-esteem and accept themselves if they are not encouraged by parents, teachers, and others who are crucial in forming their identity. It takes a leap of faith to accept ourselves, especially those who are LGBTQ+. Brian G. Murphy of Queer Theology wrote, “When LGBT people come out, we step into the unknown. For many, it is a daring (and sometimes dangerous) act of faith.” If those who are important to us reject us, it diminishes our faith. It causes us to question our relationship with God, and that rejection can have devastating consequences. That is why it is so important that parents and mentors support children and young adults, especially those of the LGBTQ+ community.

We have to be comfortable in our own skin and have self-esteem before we can grow into the person God wants us to be. The author Thomas F. Shubnell wrote, “You will never be who you want to be, until you are happy with who you are.” I have long felt that much of my life was wasted because I was not encouraged to be myself. I was made to be ashamed of being a gay man. It has taken many years to come to terms with my sexuality and faith. I was taught that the two were incompatible, but they are more than compatible; my sexuality and faith are part of who I am. We can’t let shame keep us from being ourselves. The American playwright Edward Albee said, “What could be worse than getting to the end of your life and realizing you hadn’t lived it.”

Accept yourself! Believe in yourself! Enjoy your life! Be you!

“For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” 

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

—Matthew 25:35-40

I saw the following story on Facebook, which probably means there is no truth to it, but it is a good story with a worthy message.

A pastor transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the church, where he was to be introduced as the head pastor that morning. He walked around his soon-to-be church for thirty minutes while it was filling with people for service. Only three people said hello to him; most looked the other way. He asked people for change to buy food because he was hungry. Not one person gave him anything. 

He went into the sanctuary to sit in the front of the church and was told by the ushers that he would need to get up and sit in the back of the church. He said hello to people as they walked in but was greeted with cold stares and dirty looks from people looking down on him and judging him. He sat in the back of the church and listened to the church announcements for the week. He listened as new visitors were welcomed into the church that morning, but no one acknowledged that he was new. He watched people around him continue to look his way with stares that said you are not welcome here. 

Then the church elders went to the podium to make the announcement. They said they were excited to introduce the church’s new pastor to the congregation. The congregation stood up and looked around, clapping with joy and anticipation. The homeless man sitting in the back stood up and started walking down the aisle. That’s when all the clapping stopped, and the church was silent. With all eyes on him, he walked to the altar and reached for the microphone. He stood there momentarily and then recited these verses from the Bible so elegantly.

“For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” 

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

After he recited this, he introduced himself as their new pastor and told the congregation what he had experienced that morning. Many began to cry and bow their heads in shame. “Today I see a gathering of people here but I do not see a church of Jesus. The world has enough people that look the other way. What the world needs is disciples of Jesus that can follow His teachings and live as He did.” He then dismissed service until the following Sunday as his sermon had been given.

While I doubt this happened, I can believe the parishioners would have been crying crocodile tears. Many modern-day Christians do one of two things when they are confronted with their hypocrisy. They either shed crocodile tears and act sorrowful for their shameful behavior while they would do the same thing the next day, or they double down on their hypocrisy and claim they are right and others are wrong.

Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones, but she said none of those things. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thigh bone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, you die if you break your leg. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal. Mead explained that a broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, bound up the wound, carried the person to safety, and tended to the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts.

 The moral of these two stories is simple: We are at our best when we serve others. Be civilized and help your fellow man whenever you can.

He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

—Revelation 3:5

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

—1 Thessalonians 4:16

When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder
Author: James M. Black (1893)

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

Refrain:
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of his resurrection share;
When his chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there. [Refrain]

Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun;
Let us talk of all his wondrous love and care.
Then when all of life is over and our work on earth is done,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there. [Refrain]

Written by James Milton Black, “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” has always been one of my favorite songs, and back years ago, when I was the song leader in my childhood church, I used to sing this song frequently. It is about not missing out on the eternal salvation of God inspired by the idea of The Book of Life mentioned in the Bible.

Born in 1856 in South Hill, New York, James Milton Black acquired an early musical education in singing and playing the organ. In his early twenties, Black moved to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where he worked with the Methodist Episcopal church. During the week, he would teach music as a song leader while working as a Sunday school teacher and youth leader in his free time. In addition to all this work, he also spent time editing hymnals.

Black loved young people and would help those he could. One day, while passing through an alley, he met a ragged fourteen-year-old girl whose father was an alcoholic. Black invited her to his Sunday school and youth group, and she started to attend. However, one day when Black was making the roll call, he did not hear a response from the teenage girl. Each child was supposed to recite a Scripture verse when his or her name was called. But it was her silence that made Black realize a lesson. He said, “I spoke of what a sad thing it would be when our names are called from the Lamb’s Book of Life if one of us should be absent.” 

The idea of someone not being in attendance in heaven haunted Black, and he visited the child’s home. He found out she had pneumonia, so he called on a doctor to attend to her for pneumonia before leaving the girl to return home. When he arrived home, Black tried to look for a song that would fit the thought of a heavenly roll call, but he could not find one. An inner voice seemed to tell him, “Why don’t you write one.” And that is just what he did. Sadly, the young girl passed away a few days later. Black had the heartbreaking opportunity to explain in public how he came to write “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” when it was sung at the girl’s funeral.

The first stanza of the new hymn came to Black’s mind in full. Within fifteen minutes, the two following verses were already written down, and then Black turned to the piano. “I played the music,” he said, “just as it is found today in the hymn books, note for note, and I have never dared to change a single word or note of the song.” The lyrics of the song were first published in a collection called Songs of the Soul. Since then, “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” has been translated into at least fourteen languages and sung worldwide in various Christian denominations. There are more than 500 versions available on such sites as Amazon, recorded by various artists such as Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Jim Nabors, and Willie Nelson, to the traditional tune. 

In 1945, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill created a stir in the British press when he quoted the hymn in response to a question about when the Big Three (Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill) were going to meet; the Winnipeg Free Press wrote: “Mr. Churchill, in one of his somewhat puckish moods, replied that he did not know, but, he added irreverently, ‘When the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.'” The British press expressed surprise at Churchill, an Anglican, being familiar with a hymn more associated with Methodism, Presbyterianism, and other “chapel” denominations or the revival meetings, whereas the Free Press speculated that Churchill might well have heard the “catchy” tune in the street meetings held by the Salvation Army. He might also have remembered the lyrics from the 1941 movie Sergeant York.

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the [b]best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’”

—Matthew 23:1-7

Jesus should stand as our example of how to live our lives, and we should not put words into Jesus’ mouth that we do not know what he said. By the time Jesus was born, there were four different Jewish sects: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, and the Zealots. Each had its issues. The Pharisees put more emphasis on their moral laws than those of God. The Sadducees based their life not on the Pharisees’ teachings but on the Temple and saw their ultimate authority as that of their Roman overseers. The third sect, the Essenes, actually left Jerusalem to live an ascetic life in an effort to be closer to God. Then there were the Zealots who completely opposed Roman rule and actively fought against it. It is the Pharisees that I want to talk about today because the Christianity of today is too much like that advocated by the Pharisees.

The Pharisees believed they were the ultimate religious people among the Jews during Christ’s life on earth. Determined not to break any of God’s laws, they had, over time, devised an intricate system of oral tradition to keep them from breaking the Mosaic law. One would think with such a desire to obey God that, they would have recognized the perfect obedience of Jesus and affirmed and followed Him. The essential problem lay in their different understanding of the nature of God. For the Pharisees, God is primarily the one who makes demands. For them, the Scriptures of the Old Testament were a set of rules that must be kept at all costs. For Jesus, as well as the Old Testament believers, God is a merciful God, not a vengeful one. Psalm 145:8 says, “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.”

The main cause of the Pharisees’ antagonism toward Jesus, however, lay in His ignoring of their hundreds of elaborate but petty rules that they had devised for interpreting the law of God. Not only did they devise these hundreds of man-made rules, but they also elevated them to the level of Scripture so that to break one of their rules was to violate the law of God itself. And yet these rules not only obscured the true intent of God’s law but also, in some cases, actually violated it. In other words, they added rules that were not in the scriptures. Many Christian denominations do this today. They decide their own morality and claim it is biblical when in truth, they are going against the Word of God. All that the Pharisees did was designed to make them appear to be the holiest of Jews.

Since all Scripture is profitable for us, there is a present-day lesson for us to learn from Jesus’ clash with the Pharisees. We need to be careful that we do not add our own man-made rules to the Scriptures. Some convictions that we hold dearly may be derived more from our particular Christian culture than derived from Scripture, and we need to learn to discern the differences. It is okay to have cultural convictions as long as they do not harm others, but we should be careful that we do not elevate them to the same authority as Scripture. So much judgmentalism among Christians today occurs because we do this. But that is basically what the Pharisees were doing. So, we have to guard against the modern-day Pharisees and bring Christianity back to where it belongs as a loving and charitable religion.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

— Romans 8:38-39

Last night, I had a sudden and very debilitating migraine attack. Once it started, I had to shut everything down and go to bed, almost immediately. I took the medicines that I have and slept for about an hour, and I woke up thinking I was feeling better. However, it only took a few minutes to know that it was still there and just as bad as before. So, I decided to give up for the night. I went to bed, put a cold compress over my eyes, and tried to sleep. Eventually, I was able to fall asleep. When I woke up this morning, again, I thought my headache was better, and it was. It wasn’t as bad as it was last night, so I fed Isabella and then realized, I needed to go back to bed, at least for a little while. I slept for another hour or so before finally getting up. 

While my headache is better this morning, it is not completely gone. Sadly though, I have a workshop to teach this afternoon. I can’t cancel or reschedule, and there is no one who can substitute for me. I’ll just have to persevere. The verse above is about perseverance and God’s love. No matter what life throws at us, God’s love is still there. No matter how much someone tells us that God’s love is conditional: that we cannot be gay and Christian, that we cannot have relationships, sex, or love because God has deemed it a sin, or that we are disgusting and an abomination in the eyes of God, none of these things “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” All the conditions put on us about God’s love are manmade. They do not come from God, no matter how much they may wish they do. God is a loving God. We are His creation, and He loves us, unconditionally and eternally.

I know this post is a bit shorter than many of my Sunday devotionals, but headache or not, just like the workshop I have to teach today, I think this message is an important one. I know of a dear friend of mine who is struggling with the conditions man has set upon us about God’s love, but nothing man can say or do can separate us from God’s love.

Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.

— Ecclesiastes 9:17

There are times when we are to remain silent and there are times when we are to speak up. The times when Christians are to remain silent are when we Are removing ourselves from conflict, listening to instruction, and when controlling our speech. Sometimes we need to be silent and get away from distractions to hear God.

It is essential in our walk with the Lord that we learn how to be in silence before Him. Sometimes silence is a sin. Sometimes it is essential that we do not remain silent. Ephesians 5:11 tells us, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” It’s our duty to speak up against evil because if we don’t who will? I encourage everyone to pray for courage to help with speaking up for what’s right and pray for help to remain silent when we must be silent. Proverbs 31:9 says, “Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy” and Isaiah 1:17 commands us, “Learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” We have to speak up to those who can’t speak for themselves, or if they can speak, lend our voices to their cries for help and justice.

It is a shame that many of today’s Christians are silent when it’s time to speak out against sin and evil, especially when it is coming from so-called Christians. If you are purposely doing harm, silencing others who need a voice, yet proclaim to be Christian, you are not in fact following the Word of God. As Christians we are to preach the Word of God, discipline, and rebuke others who work against God’s word. Many Christians are so worldly, often caught up in the current political climate of hate, they’re afraid to stand up for God and save lives. They would rather condemn others to burn in hell than tell people the truth of God’s Word and protect and assist those who need it the most.

A few things to remember as we go about our day:

• Silence can be a source of great strength.
• Wise men are not always silent, but they know when to be.
• God is the best listener. You don’t need to shout nor cry out loud because He hears even the silent prayer of a sincere heart.

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

—Matthew 22:37-40

Are self-love and Christianity compatible? Some people may lead you to believe that they are not, but Jesus speaks to this question when He spells out the importance of love in Matthew 22:37-40. He gives us the greatest commandment – to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. The second one, He states, is to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Before all else, we must love God first- with every part of our being. It is our rock solid foundation for all that follows, including knowing how to love ourselves and show His love to others. God didn’t create man because of boredom, loneliness, or need. He created us in His image to enjoy a loving relationship with Him. If God’s image is one of unfathomable worth, then being made in His image helps us understand our own worth and purpose.

The Bible warns us in 2 Timothy 3:1-4 that in “the last days perilous times will come” and people will be “lovers of themselves… rather than lovers of God.” So, there is a distinction in self-love that we need to understand. The 2 Timothy verses speaks of a sinful self-love. Paul describes the love in this verse as the Greek word philautos, a selfish and arrogant self-love; intent only on one’s self-interests. People will completely take their eyes off God and their lives will revolve only around themselves and their interests. We see this a lot with right-wing politicians these days. In contrast, the love Jesus speaks of in Matthew was agape love, i.e., Christian love or brotherly love. It is an unselfish love, and the love we should show for God, self, and others.

Christian self-love is based on the love God has for us- selfless and unconditional. While many of us know our identity in Christ and believe He loves us unconditionally, we can still struggle with a right self-love attitude. As gay Christians, this is one of our greatest struggles. We are often taught that our sexuality is an abomination, and we have to get past that by understanding those clobber passages that people throw at us. Once we understand that we were created in God’s own image, we can accept our sexuality as part of us, and then we can begin to love ourselves. We often look in the mirror and concentrate on the things we don’t like about ourselves. It may be our physical self, or things we regret saying or doing in the past. It may be our sexuality or gender. We dislike some of our character traits and feel insecure and guilt. We beat ourselves up over our shortcomings. What we need to realize is that if we are created in God’s image, and we love and obey God, then the way He made us is not a shortcoming.

Enemies of God love to get inside our head and tell us our looks/personality/failures/sexuality, etc., means we’re not worthy of love. How wrong they are! They are the inner bully that eggs us on to self-loathing instead of self-love. They will try anything to separate us from God’s love. However, we are all beautiful inside and out. Our failures make us stronger if we learn from them, and our sexuality is part of who we are. Too many people want to see others hurt so they can feel better and more superior about their own lives. Instead of following God’s word, they want to hit us over the head with their distorted beliefs and hatred.

We need to remember that our self-love is based on the deep agape love of God and that Jesus’ selfless sacrifice saved us. Therefore, He never wants us to see ourselves as worthless! Listening and believing what He says about us helps us have the correct attitude of self-love. We know as Christians that we are not perfect but that God’s love can make us whole. Christian self-love admits our guilt and flaws, confessing and surrendering ourselves to Jesus. His grace never puts us down or shames us. He doesn’t want us to pick ourselves apart or become consumed with insecurities. Likewise, He doesn’t want us on the other end of the spectrum with an inflated, prideful ego. Pride is in us by nature. We have to work against it and not allow it consume us. You can be proud of who you are, that’s why we celebrate pride every June, but there is a different in having pride in who we are and being so prideful that it hurts others. Acknowledging His boundless love and what He has done for us should fill us with a humble spirit. Through Him, we see ourselves as his loving creation. Self-love comes through seeing ourselves as He sees us. That gives us the correct balance of humility and confidence to love ourselves correctly.

Our self-love will naturally waver from time to time. We can overcome, however, and free ourselves from negative thoughts. It takes persistence (it’s a lifelong process), knowing what He says about us in His Word, and a resolve to keep our eyes on Jesus.

We need to learn, value, and accept our identity in Christ. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others. We have to recognize we are not perfect. No one is perfect! We need to forgive and show compassion to ourselves. Self-love is about self-acceptance. We have to accept who we are before we can love who we are.

In the words of RuPaul, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”

Can I get an amen up in here?