WHAT SELF-LOVE DOES TO US

(Originally by Wayne Greeson, but reworked by David J. Riggs)

Intro.
   A. Whitney Houston had a huge hit from the song entitled, "The
      Greatest Love of All." Here are the words from that song:

   I never found anyone who fulfilled my needs. A lonely place to be.
   And so I learned to depend on me.
   I decided long ago never to walk in anyone's shadow.

   If I failed, if I succeed, at least I'd lived as I believe.
   No matter what they take from me, they can't take away my dignity.
   Because the greatest love of all is happening to me.

   I found the greatest love of all inside of me.
   The greatest love of all is easy to agree.
   Learning to love yourself; it's the greatest love of all.

   B. Many have taken this song as an encouragement to rely on
      oneself.
      1. But, in reality, the words are more a reflection of a
         self-centered person.

I. SELF-LOVE IS A PROBLEM, NOT A NEED.
   A. At the top of Paul's list of the evils in the last times is,   
      "lovers of themselves." 2 Tim. 3:1-5
      1. Thus, according to Paul, self-love is not the greatest love 
         of all, but is an evil that is to be avoided.
      2. The basic command: "Thou shall love thy neighbor as
         thyself" is based on the fact that we already love          
         ourselves.
         a. Of course, there are a few exceptions where people do
            not loves themselves, but this is not normal, and those
            people need help.
      3. The Bible says no one hates his own flesh. Eph. 5:28-29

II. SELF-LOVE IS A PROBLEM FROM EARLY CHILDHOOD.
   A. We begin as very selfish, self-centered creatures.
      1. A young child's life and thoughts all revolve around "I want
         this" and "give me that."
      2. The Bible acknowledges there is a time when the child does
         not have a knowledge of right and wrong. Isa. 7:16
         a. Rom. 7:9 - Paul spoke of this when he was under the
            law of Moses, but the same is true of us today.
            (1) When we reach the age of accountability and learn
                right from wrong, we see that we are already guilty
                of sin.
                (a) Thus, we begin on our journey of making
                    corrections.
            (2) As one grows toward maturity, he needs to put
                away childish things. 1 Cor. 13:11
   B. Some never seem to leave infantile self-love.
      1. A young man who is in love with himself is considered
         arrogant and obnoxious.
         a. Absalom was handsome and vain. 2 Sam. 14:25-26
         b. He acted like a spoiled brat who throws fits to get his
            way.
            (1) He set fire to Joab's fields just to get him to come
                and talk to him. 2 Sam. 14:29-31
         c. He flattered people and spoke evil of his father to gain 
            a following and advantage. 2 Sam. 15:1-6

III. IT MAKES US MISERABLE.
   A. No one can make you more miserable than you, yourself, can.
      1. Those who are in love with themselves and selfish are a
         pretty miserable lot.
      2. Haman had enormous power in Ahasuerus' kingdom. He had
         riches, position, honor and power. 
         a. Yet, when Mordecai the Jew would not bow to him,
            despite all he had, his selfishness made him miserable.
            Esther 3:1-6
      3. He went home and told his wife and his friends of all his
         riches, his children, his promotions and his invitation to a
         banquet with the king and queen, "Yet all this availeth me
         nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the
         king's gate." Esther 5:9-13
      4. Haman's great love for himself made him miserable and
         ultimately destroyed him.

IV. IT MAKES US LONELY.
   A. A person filled with self-love is a lonely person.
      1. The song "The Greatest Love of All" speaks of this
         loneliness. "I never found anyone who fulfilled my needs. A
         lonely place to be. And so I learned to depend on me."
      2. I gave a little tea party this afternoon, at 3
         'Twas very small, 3 guests in all - I, myself, and me.
         Myself ate all the sandwiches while I drank all the tea.
         'Twas also I who ate the pie and passed the cake to me.
      3. Someone has rightly said, "You cannot be your brother's
         keeper if you are caged by selfishness."
   B. Providing "things" only for oneself will never satisfy. Isa.   
      56:11; Eccl. 10:10
      1. We live in a selfish world.
         a. "At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. At
            40, we don't care what they think of us. At 60, we
            discover they haven't been thinking of us at all." (Ann
            Landers, quoted in Signs of the Times, March, 1993, p.
            6).
         b. They are not thinking of us because they are only
            thinking of themselves.

V. IT IS SINFUL.
   A. Those who love themselves are not only selfish, but sinful.
      1. Rom. 2:8 - "Self-seeking" - A desire to put oneself forward,
         a factious, partisan spirit. This word is found before NT
         times only in Aristotle where it denotes a self-seeking     
         pursuit of political office by unfair means. (Arndt &       
         Gingrich)
      2. James speaks against having self-seeking or self-promoting  
         in our hearts. James 3:14 
      3. Many people seek to serve and please themselves rather than
         God. Phil. 3:19 
      4. A very simple basic of Christianity is to "deny self." Luke
         9:23
         a. "'ME' is always at the bottom of all sin. One little word
            M-E. It may spell drink, lust, pride, covetousness, self-
            will, fornication; but it is some form of 'me'." 

VI. IT BRINGS ABOUT ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION.
   A. Self-love leads not only to selfishness & sin, but ultimately  
      to self-destruction.
      1. According to Daniel Schaeffer in his book Dancing With A
         Shadow, the Eskimos devised a way of killing wolves. They
         planted a knife in the ice with the handle buried. Then they
         put chunks of fresh meat on the blade and let it freeze. The
         wolves would smell the blood from afar and come to devour
         it. As they licked the frozen meat, they worked themselves
         into a frenzy. Soon they cut their tongues on the           
         razor-sharp blade and began feeding their hunger with their 
         own blood. They would lick until they slowly bled to death.
      2. When we fail to recognize the danger and sin of selfishness
         we are in danger of self-destruction like these wolves.
   B. The worst thing about self-love is that it will damn one's     
      soul. Rom. 2:8-10

Concl.
   A. Beware of the peril of loving yourself. 
      1. Remove self-love and the misery, sin, and destruction it
         brings, and replace it with a love for God and others.
      2. Doing so will bring joy, righteousness and eternal life.
   B. Prayer of Single-Mindedness 

      I don't want to argue theories of inspiration, 
      - but to submit to Your Word. 

      I don't want to explain the difference between eros, philos,   
      and agape, 
      - but to love. 

      I don't want to sing as if I mean it 
      - but I want to mean it. 

      I don't want to tell it like it is, 
      - but to be like You want. 

      I don't want to think others need me, 
      - but that I need others. 

      I don't want to tell others how to do it, 
      - but to do it myself. 
   
      I don't want to have to be always right, 
      - but to admit when I'm wrong. 

      I don't want to be a professional, 
      - but a friend. 

      I don't want to be insensitive, 
      - but to hurt when other people hurt. 

      I don't want to scorn the clichés of others, 
      - but to mean everything I say, including this. 
      (By Joe Bayly, Slightly Adapted)

Chart: 
What Self-Love Does To Us

It Makes Us Miserable
                        
It Causes Loneliness
                     
It Is Sinful
                        
It's Ultimate End - Damnation