Adding balance

In order to give fully of yourself, there needs to be enough of you. You need the appropriate balance of love and respect for yourself.

When Paul recalls the command to love others as yourself in Romans 13, he reminds us that all the commandments are summed up by loving others as you love yourself. When we steal, we love ourselves more than we love others by taking what we don’t deserve. When we covet, we love the things and lifestyles of others more than we love our own selves. When we murder, we love and value our own lives more than another’s.

But when we take care of ourselves, making ourselves no more or less important than our neighbors, we are living out God’s command.

This message is adapted from “Faith reflections: Adding a Little Balance for Lent” written by Megan Torgerson that first appeared in the March 2011 issue of Cafe e-magazine. Today we remember Peter Claver, priest, missionary to Colombia, who died in 1654. Do you enjoy these free Daily Grace messages? If so, donate now to further the ministry.