Stop Hating Yourself

As Christians, we are called to be humble. We are not God, nor are we any better than our fellow human beings.

But there is such a thing as false humility. It poisons us with thoughts such as:

I’m worthless and incapable of great things.

If anyone knew the real me, they wouldn’t love me anymore.

I’m too sinful even for God to love me.

These thoughts are not truly humble, but actually prideful because you’re elevating your personal feelings above what God has revealed about you.

Humility is rooted in truth. What’s the truth about you? That your Father in Heaven takes delight in you!

Here are two reflections to keep in mind if you struggle with self-contempt.

God never makes mistakes.
God created you. As Pope Benedict XVI said, “We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.”

God is a perfect being; therefore, He is incapable of making mistakes. It follows that since He created you, it’s 100% impossible for you to be a mistake.

Christ commands you to love yourself.
In the Gospels, Jesus tells us that the two greatest commandments are to love the Lord with your entire self and, likewise, to love your neighbor as yourself.

How you love yourself determines how you love your neighbor. You can’t be there for others in the way God calls you to be if you’re self-loathing. If you hate yourself, that hate will find its way to others.

You are not cursed. You are blessed! There is nothing you can do to make God stop loving you.

Go to the Lord in silent prayer and place all your self-hatred before Him. Ask Him for the grace to see yourself as He does, as His beloved child who is called to spend eternity united with Him.