Trailblazer
Veteran Member
Does God require us to love ourselves?
I don’t know anywhere in scriptures of my religion where it says we have to love ourselves. I don’t know if it says that in the Bible or any other religious scriptures.
I believe that we should at least like ourselves but I do not believe we have to love ourselves because I consider that narcissistic. I do not care what psychologists say about how we should love ourselves since I go by what religion teaches. I do not want to love myself because I consider that selfish. I want to love God and other people and animals, but why do I have to love myself?
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What made me think to post this is that sometimes I hate myself over things that really don’t matter at all. I do not really hate myself, I just feel guilty about something I did, but I feel even guiltier about things I am not doing. I realize that it is because I feel guilty that I hate myself, as guilt and self-hate are very much connected. When I get like this I will talk to myself out loud and tell myself I do not even deserve to live or even breathe air. It is possible these feelings are some relics from my childhood, as both my parents had psychological issues and addiction problems and the children were emotionally abandoned.
I do not remember much of my early childhood, just a few snapshots, and it is possible there was some abuse and I have repressed memories. I worked through my childhood issues in counseling and 12 step groups for over 15 years so I came to a point where I was not going to benefit from any more counseling. The counselors don’t think I need counseling because I am very self-aware and know what I need to do to take care of my problems, yet the feelings sometimes persist. I should mention I do have PTSD from the sudden death of my father when I was 12 years old, so that could be the main problem, as I remember feeling normal and even happy before that. After that my mother started drinking heavily and my sister and I started taking street drugs during our teenage years.
In the distant past I blamed my husband for everything. More recently when in a discussion with my husband I will blame him, but then I realize that it is me that I blame. That is not to say there are not things he does or does not do that bother me a lot, but he has never been hateful or mean to me the way I am sometimes am towards him. Sometimes I hate him, but I know why I hate him, because I am worried he is going to die like my father did and leave me all alone. I don’t hate him because he won’t mow the yard or clean the house; I hate him because he won’t take care of his health. So in my mind I am trying to accept that he might die and it is better to hate him than to love him and feel the pain of loss when he dies.
Death hangs over me like a pall; not my own death, but the death of those I love. I feel like everyone has died and left me alone, and that is not just a feeling because that is what has really happened. First my father died and then my sister and then my mother, so all I have left besides my husband is a brother I never talk to, and he could be dead for all I know. Everyone I love has died, except my husband and the few cats I have l left.
I often wonder about this Bible verse.
Job 1:21 King James Version
21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
Why does it say “blessed be the name of the Lord”? Why is the Lord’s name blessed given all that the Lord takes away from us? I just don't get it.
I don’t know anywhere in scriptures of my religion where it says we have to love ourselves. I don’t know if it says that in the Bible or any other religious scriptures.
I believe that we should at least like ourselves but I do not believe we have to love ourselves because I consider that narcissistic. I do not care what psychologists say about how we should love ourselves since I go by what religion teaches. I do not want to love myself because I consider that selfish. I want to love God and other people and animals, but why do I have to love myself?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
What made me think to post this is that sometimes I hate myself over things that really don’t matter at all. I do not really hate myself, I just feel guilty about something I did, but I feel even guiltier about things I am not doing. I realize that it is because I feel guilty that I hate myself, as guilt and self-hate are very much connected. When I get like this I will talk to myself out loud and tell myself I do not even deserve to live or even breathe air. It is possible these feelings are some relics from my childhood, as both my parents had psychological issues and addiction problems and the children were emotionally abandoned.
I do not remember much of my early childhood, just a few snapshots, and it is possible there was some abuse and I have repressed memories. I worked through my childhood issues in counseling and 12 step groups for over 15 years so I came to a point where I was not going to benefit from any more counseling. The counselors don’t think I need counseling because I am very self-aware and know what I need to do to take care of my problems, yet the feelings sometimes persist. I should mention I do have PTSD from the sudden death of my father when I was 12 years old, so that could be the main problem, as I remember feeling normal and even happy before that. After that my mother started drinking heavily and my sister and I started taking street drugs during our teenage years.
In the distant past I blamed my husband for everything. More recently when in a discussion with my husband I will blame him, but then I realize that it is me that I blame. That is not to say there are not things he does or does not do that bother me a lot, but he has never been hateful or mean to me the way I am sometimes am towards him. Sometimes I hate him, but I know why I hate him, because I am worried he is going to die like my father did and leave me all alone. I don’t hate him because he won’t mow the yard or clean the house; I hate him because he won’t take care of his health. So in my mind I am trying to accept that he might die and it is better to hate him than to love him and feel the pain of loss when he dies.
Death hangs over me like a pall; not my own death, but the death of those I love. I feel like everyone has died and left me alone, and that is not just a feeling because that is what has really happened. First my father died and then my sister and then my mother, so all I have left besides my husband is a brother I never talk to, and he could be dead for all I know. Everyone I love has died, except my husband and the few cats I have l left.
I often wonder about this Bible verse.
Job 1:21 King James Version
21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
Why does it say “blessed be the name of the Lord”? Why is the Lord’s name blessed given all that the Lord takes away from us? I just don't get it.