Will Loving Myself Heal the Planet?
Recently, while driving down the road, I was struck by the bold claim on the marquee of a church. It read, “Loving myself will help heal the planet.” What comes to mind when you read these words? Do alarm bells ring? Do you find yourself agreeing? It does seem to coincide with much of the messaging thrown our way today. If only we love ourselves more, we can love others more, and then the world will be a better place. Sounds so simple, so encouraging. While this sign contains some truth, I want to share why simply loving yourself falls flat. But not just that, as we approach the Christmas season, I want to share with you something simpler that actually does heal the planet.
Back to the sign… so, where is the truth here? Something in this sign contains truth; otherwise, sayings like this wouldn’t be so popular. No matter what you believe the solution is, we can all agree there is a problem. Our world is broken. After the last 20 months of Covid craziness, I can’t imagine that we could disagree here. In this world, there is pain, suffering, confusion, and division. Yet, there is something inside us as humans that says, “It’s not supposed to be this way.” We yearn for love, joy, peace, and unity. There has been a drastic increase in the diagnosis of mental health disorders, and many of us feel plagued by fear and anxiety of the future. The reason these feelings bother us is because we yearn for more. No matter your beliefs, humans yearn for peace and joy. The Bible tells us that God “has put eternity into man’s heart” in Ecclesiastes 3:11. In our souls, we know that there is more than meets the eye. We have a longing for eternity, for no more death or sorrow.
If we agree that the world is broken and humans desire more, how then can we fix it? Is love enough? This is where the marquee not only falls short but sells a shallow gospel. What does it even mean to love myself? Culture tells us that we will feel like our best selves by doing enough self-discovery, meditation, and self-care. Live our best lives. Then after loving myself enough, I can then extend that to others from the overflow. After all, you can’t love someone else until you love yourself, right? Am I saying that all self-help is bad? Of course not. I believe that God wants us to be healthy and take care of ourselves, but that is how our hearts are already postured. We come into the world caring about our needs first. We have hunger pains, and we feed ourselves. We are exhausted, and we fall asleep. God has already equipped us with bodies that show us what we need to take care of ourselves.
Rather, in the self-love belief system, loving yourself becomes an idol. Self becomes the central focus. And when is it enough? I may have a day of “wellness” and have all of the energy to love my kids well, but I start the next day with an empty slate. The idol of self is a starving monster that I become a slave to feeding. It’s never enough. I may learn through self-help books how to curb my anger, meditate for 30 minutes every morning, and create boundaries but doesn’t that all sound exhausting? This is why so many of us start with these amazing goals on January 1st and abandon ship after just a few weeks. Loving yourself is an exhausting, endless cycle that will never truly give you the rest and peace your body craves. If you can’t even do this for yourself, how in the world will it ever be able to heal the planet?
I think several years ago, I would have driven right past this sign and agreed. Maybe alarm bells wouldn’t have sounded off in my head, but that has changed after the last few years of digging into God’s word. Once you know the truth, experience true joy, and rest, you can’t go back to the shallow fix. So today, in the Advent season, I want to share with you how our planet will find healing. I want to share the free gift that allows you to experience a type of soul rest you won’t find in a self-help book or yoga session.
Two thousand years ago, God came into this world as a baby, born of a virgin (Luke 1:27). His birth, already miraculous, is just a small part of the good news. Jesus grew up, lived a perfect, sinless life, and performed miracle after miracle, righting the world’s wrongs (2 Corinthians 5:21). Healing sin’s curse on the earth. And one day, he willingly went to the cross, giving his life as the perfect sacrifice that would atone for all sin forevermore (Romans 5:8). He died, was buried, and after three days, He rose from the grave, declaring victory over sin and death(Romans 6:9)! The best news? He offers salvation and new life for all who believe in Him (John 3:16). Eight years ago, I believed. After years of struggling and desperation, trying to live life on my own terms, I surrendered my life to Christ. That doesn’t mean that life has been easy since that day, but it does mean that I don’t have to do life alone. It means that God is with me, every day. It means that his Spirit lives inside of me, offering supernatural peace and joy despite life’s circumstances(Romans 8:11, Galatians 5:22). It means that death isn’t the end. I have peace knowing that despite what is happening in this world, one day, I will spend eternity with Christ where there is no more death or suffering. It means that I can truly love myself, not by making myself the central focus but by understanding that I am made in God’s image and he has a purpose for my life, to glorify Him!
Christ is coming back one day. He will bring with Him perfect justice, eliminate the enemy, and restore his kingdom here on earth(John 14:1-3). Christ will heal the planet. He is the only one who has that power and authority. He is the only one who will have the final victory, and to Him, every knee will bow! Praise God that it’s not up to me or you to heal the planet! As we approach this Christmas season, I invite you to investigate the claims that I am making. Are you exhausted and weary? Are you overwhelmed by the news of this world? Pray and ask God to reveal himself to you. Investigate the story of Jesus with one of the resources below and ask if it’s true. Praying Christ reveals himself to you, and you experience true rest, joy, and peace this Christmas season.
For further reading:
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary R. Habermas and Michael Licona
Cold-Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace