{"id":21294,"date":"2017-02-13T00:10:33","date_gmt":"2017-02-13T08:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lccredding.com\/lcc\/?p=10054"},"modified":"2017-02-13T00:10:33","modified_gmt":"2017-02-13T08:10:33","slug":"february-13-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2017\/02\/13\/february-13-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"February 13, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cAnd the second, like it, is this: \u2018You shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019 There is no other commandment greater than these.\u201d<\/em> Mark 12:31<\/span><\/p>\n

Self-Love vs. Loving Others<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Part 2<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

Yesterday we looked at attributes of people who are \u201clovers of themselves\u201d from 2 Timothy 3:2-5. There are many other ways to identify this pattern in ourselves, besides just what was mentioned in those couple of verses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Note: To be true to the intent of this passage, verse 1 says, \u201cBut know this, that in the last days perilous times will come\u2026\u201d<\/em> and then it lists all those behaviors and attitudes. People who are lovers of themselves characterize the perilous times of the last days. Then, the last part of verse 5 says, \u201cAnd from such people turn away.\u201d<\/em> Instead of being a witness to God\u2019s greatness, they are a witness only to their own greatness\u2014inconsequential in comparison\u2014and we are told to turn away from them.<\/span><\/p>\n

So many times in Scripture we are told to \u201cput off\u201d certain sinful attitudes and behaviors, and \u201cput on\u201d certain godly attitudes and behaviors. So I got to thinking, if we are to put off all these attitudes and behaviors, what should we put in their place?<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of being loving of ourselves, what if we were lovers of others? Just looking at this one passage of Scripture from yesterday, perhaps we would\u2026<\/span>
\n\u2026 Give money so others can have all they need;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Boast in others;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Do what benefits others;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Speak kindly of others;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Obey authorities, knowing they have been given \u201crule\u201d over us;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Thank others for what they do, and give, and just who they are in Christ;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Live holy lives before others, that they may be drawn to relationship with Christ;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Love selflessly, because it\u2019s all about others;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Reconcile and forgive as Christ did, knowing that if there is to be judgment or vengeance, it is Christ\u2019s job;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Speak encouragement and comfort into lives;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Be self-controlled, not stumbling those who are weaker;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Be kind and gentle and good, thus blessing others;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Exemplify true goodness, that it would witness to the goodness of God;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Be completely faithful to God, His Word, and other believers;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Be submissive and meek, knowing we are but dust (yet redeemed by our Savior);<\/span>
\n\u2026 Love God and others more than we love ourselves;<\/span>
\n\u2026 Acknowledge and use the Spirit\u2019s power that lives within us to accomplish all these things.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFather, by Your Holy Spirit dwelling within us, produce in us this kind of unselfish love for others\u2014the same love that You have for us. May we never settle for the low estate of loving ourselves when so many are hungry for Your love. Let the testimony of our lives be living for You by loving others. In Jesus\u2019 Name, Amen.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd the second, like it, is this: \u2018You shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019 There is no other commandment greater […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-women"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p92wjD-5xs","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21294\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}