Love of Self
Yes, love of self is a priority, as Jesus, himself said in Matt.22 that we are to love ourselves as our neighbor. The trouble begins when we place ourselves too high up on the priority list. Paul states in his letter to the Romans chapter 12 verse 3 that we need to be careful lest we think too highly of ourselves. Far too many believers have camouflaged their lives into the world that has rejected the Gospel and the Savior who laid down His life for us. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to differentiate "Christians" from non-Christians. Both have the same lifestyles, same addictions, laugh at the same jokes, have the same financial goals and obviously have forgotten that heaven is their home and that this world is a place of ministry.
God's word is clear that we as Christians are passing through this world.
(1 Peter 2:11-17) Jesus prayed that we are to be in the world but not of the world (John 17). The world longs to see a Christian who is living the Christian life, but oftentimes the Christian life is only a matter of what we believe, and never affects the lifestyle we live. In the Old Testament the people of God were constantly battling defecting and embracing the gods of the Jebusites, Ammonites, Philistines and other godless people groups. We are said to be aliens, strangers, sojourners passing through this world on our way to our real home in heaven. Many Christians look just like the world. We never stop to ask the Holy Spirit what He thinks about our life and appearance. Like the proverbial frog in the hot water, many children of the King have lost the power of God by becoming by slowly becoming accustomed to the ways of the world.God's word is clear that our testimony is used by the Holy Spirit of God to convince unbelievers that God is real and that He changes lives. Truth is, since Jesus has enthroned our hearts we can do anything we want, but we don't want to use that freedom to be a stumbling block (1 Cor.11:31). Ask the Lord to guide each priority, each hobby, each activity to get His approval as to our effectiveness in the Kingdom.
We have but one life. Is it being lived in such a way as to reflect our eternal home to be our destination? Are the ambitions and attitudes we convey, putting Jesus on display or are we just plowing through experiences and relationships doing our own thing and totally missing the point.(1 Cor. 10:31)
