Meditations

Heart Guide for Lesson 18:
Love Thyself

Take the test applying 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 to yourself. Score it on a 1-5 scale with 1 being hardly ever and 5 being all the time. Be honest. Score it according to a 'snapshot' of your first reactions, not your more ideal self!

1 2 3 4 5   Are you harder on yourself than on others? Do you berate yourself?

1 2 3 4 5   Do you get angry with yourself easily? Depression counts as self-anger!

1 2 3 4 5   Are there things about yourself that you dislike and can't accept?

1 2 3 4 5   Are there things in your past that you just can't forgive yourself for?

1 2 3 4 5   Do you talk down to yourself when you have done something stupid?

Total: _____

A score of five signifies a person full of grace (or someone in deep need of honesty)!

1) Now consider what your score may indicate about your self-talk and self-attitude. The enemy is pushed back whenever we see a) a problem area that we had previously unrecognized and b) realize that we are not the only one struggling with that problem.

2) Remember the stories you have heard of famous people? Even people who have had 'everything going for them' often cannot find peace with themselves. The point of this exercise is to see that abilities, charisma and success do not ensure self-acceptance.

3) Now ask yourself on what basis can you actually hope to arrive at total self acceptance? Is it possible to fully accept yourself if you don't have the abilities, charisma and success you have desired? Why and why not?[1]

Return to Love Thyself: Head to Heart Guides for more ways to go deeper into these truths or stay 'on course' by going to the...