Treat ourselves well. Treat others well.

Hey everyone. I’m Sherry Douglas with Heart-Song. Last week we looked at some practical ways to be a good friend to ourselves. Many of us need help with that, don’t we? If we’re kind & compassionate with ourselves, we’re better prepared to be kind and compassionate with others. It’s like practicing. Treat ourselves well. Treat others well.

The opposite is true, too. If we’re kind to others, we can think about how we do that and do the same for ourselves. For example, if someone calls us upset because they failed at something, we would encourage them. We would show them love. We can do the same with ourselves. Those with self-compassion understand that everyone makes mistakes and has struggles, including themselves. When we’re in similar situations, we can say the same words of consolation and encouragement to ourselves that we would say to our friends and family.

Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” This is clear direction of what to do for others. Kindness, compassion, and forgiveness are to be offered as the Lord has offered them to us. To be able to offer love to others, we must first love ourselves. We must first be our own good friend.

Live the way you want to be remembered. See you next time.