Let him search for peace…and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!]
—1 Peter 3:11
Have you ever thought about your relationship with yourself? For years, it never occurred to me that I had a relationship with myself. In fact, I never thought about it until God began to teach me how to improve it. Maybe the idea that you have a relationship with yourself has never entered your mind, either. But the truth is, you spend more time with yourself than with anyone else! So getting along well with yourself is vital to your well-being.
Do you like yourself? Many people don't. Self-rejection and even self-hatred contribute to many of the struggles we have in life. Think about it: Rejecting or holding hatred toward others causes all kinds of problems in relationships with them, so why wouldn't rejecting or hating or disliking yourself cause the same kind of problems in your relationship with yourself?
Today's scripture urges us to pursue and go after peaceful relations with God, others, and ourselves. I encourage you to embrace and accept yourself because God created you just the way He wants you to be and made every unique thing about you. He loves you tremendously, so let that truth empower you to not only like yourself, but also to love yourself. As you grow in this way, you'll notice that some of your problems will decrease and eventually go away.
Love Yourself Today: Make a list of your good qualities. Take a moment to think about how these positive attributes are a blessing to you and to others. Thank God for making so many good things about you!
What Really Matters
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:1–3
Peter Drucker was one of the most profound and influential thinkers of the business world. He remained in demand as a consultant and speaker into his nineties. One of Drucker’s most profound observations was regarding the gap between what many people focus on and the most important priorities. He wrote, “Management is doing things right—improving operational performance, maximizing revenues, and reducing expenses while increasing artistic production values and audience appreciation. Leadership is doing the right things—setting organizational priorities and allocating human and fiscal resources to fulfill the organization’s vision.”
It is important for us to do what is right and it is important for us to do acts of kindness. But as Christians, it’s not enough to do the right things. The Bible tells us that our motives—the why behind what we do—matters.
Samuel told King Saul, “Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). God calls us to live righteously, because He is infinitely holy. But outward forms do not suffice. We need to serve Him with the right motives, or all the right actions will not produce any profit for our eternal accounts.
1 Corinthians 13:1–3
Peter Drucker was one of the most profound and influential thinkers of the business world. He remained in demand as a consultant and speaker into his nineties. One of Drucker’s most profound observations was regarding the gap between what many people focus on and the most important priorities. He wrote, “Management is doing things right—improving operational performance, maximizing revenues, and reducing expenses while increasing artistic production values and audience appreciation. Leadership is doing the right things—setting organizational priorities and allocating human and fiscal resources to fulfill the organization’s vision.”
It is important for us to do what is right and it is important for us to do acts of kindness. But as Christians, it’s not enough to do the right things. The Bible tells us that our motives—the why behind what we do—matters.
Samuel told King Saul, “Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). God calls us to live righteously, because He is infinitely holy. But outward forms do not suffice. We need to serve Him with the right motives, or all the right actions will not produce any profit for our eternal accounts.
Today’s Growth Principle:
Only faithful service motivated by love for God will give meaning and eternal value to service for Him.
Do You Like Yourself?
by Joyce Meyer - posted July 01, 2017Let him search for peace…and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!]
—1 Peter 3:11
Have you ever thought about your relationship with yourself? For years, it never occurred to me that I had a relationship with myself. In fact, I never thought about it until God began to teach me how to improve it. Maybe the idea that you have a relationship with yourself has never entered your mind, either. But the truth is, you spend more time with yourself than with anyone else! So getting along well with yourself is vital to your well-being.
Do you like yourself? Many people don't. Self-rejection and even self-hatred contribute to many of the struggles we have in life. Think about it: Rejecting or holding hatred toward others causes all kinds of problems in relationships with them, so why wouldn't rejecting or hating or disliking yourself cause the same kind of problems in your relationship with yourself?
Today's scripture urges us to pursue and go after peaceful relations with God, others, and ourselves. I encourage you to embrace and accept yourself because God created you just the way He wants you to be and made every unique thing about you. He loves you tremendously, so let that truth empower you to not only like yourself, but also to love yourself. As you grow in this way, you'll notice that some of your problems will decrease and eventually go away.
Love Yourself Today: Make a list of your good qualities. Take a moment to think about how these positive attributes are a blessing to you and to others. Thank God for making so many good things about you!
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