³⁷ Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39 NKJV)

Consider the fact that if we only practiced these two scriptural tenants how much better we and the world would be.

These encapsulate the core of where we need to place our love. First upon God, then upon others and lastly upon ourselves. Make no mistake, the other in these scriptures has meaning. For in that order lies the recipe for a good and happy life.

Far too many people start with love of self, which is often already broken and try to love in the opposite order than God prescribed. In doing this there is not even enough love within us to compensate for how we feel about ourselves, let alone anyone else. God comes in a distant third.

When we begin with the love of God with all our heart, mind and soul we are naturally infused through the Spirit with love for others and ourselves. And to address the difficulty many have to even love themselves, just take a moment and consider how much God loves you! He gave his one and only son for your life and salvation.

Reflect on: Your relationship with love and the order in which you give it. Maybe a change is in order.