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In Reply to: MG on Self Esteem, Dumps & you are your own worst enemy posted by MG Fan Club on April 28, 2002 at 15:13:38:
I hate the disease of Doctrinal Argumentisis, but I will state my opinion anyway:
I can't find anywhere in the bible that it says that we are to live loving others more than ourselves. It says, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself", NOT "more than thyself". (Mat. 19:19, Mat. 22:39, Mk. 12:31, Lk. 10:27, Ro. 13:9, Gal. 5:14, Ja. 2:8)
Just because it defines the greatest love as one where a man lays down his life for another, doesn't mean we have to live that way. To me, it implies Jesus' own sacrifice. It means DEATH -if we lay down our lives, we are playing the final card - death - by giving up our lives, trading it to save someone else. I believe the "die daily" verse was misued and quoted out of context by Berg. (1 Cor. 15:31) I can't see the context in which it was written, harmonizing with what was asked out of us by the Family.
Not even when Jesus asked us to do something extraordinary, like blessing our enemies, did he imply that we do it out of this great love for others way above ourselves. He said it would be to our own benefit because we would heap coals of fire on their heads if they are undeserving. If they do deserve it, it means we are allowing for the possibility we might be in the wrong about something, and I also believe it is to our own benefit not to get consumed withh anger and to live peaceably.
My own experience is that God works with us, gives us a sense of pride for our achievments, boosts our self-esteem. Helps us to sleep better at night for an honest decent day's work.
In my relief work, it is so rewarding to see someone's sense of self-respect and pride being restored. I believe in helping others to help themselves. I help them to have self-respect a.k.a. pride in who they are. From this seed, genuine healing and self-recovery and initiative grows. Not the opposite Family M.O., where I have to knock them down, tell them they're not worth anything, so that I can set myself up as standing taller than them and "helping" them by pulling them up to my level. What BS!!
