21 Powerful Bible Verses About Self Love

Bible verses about self-love are meant to build our self-esteem and healthy self-love.

God loves us dearly. From the beginning of time to the present, God’s love never failed. There are so many verses in the Bible that express His love for us. We are loved by the all-powerful, mightiest, all-knowing, perfect being, and yet, when we look into the mirror, we do not always love what we see.

At times, we are not surprised by our mistakes and failures because we did not believe that we can do it in the first place. Other times, we just accept what we are given no matter how little it is because we do not see ourselves as worthy of more. Let us remind ourselves of our value by reading and studying what the Bible says.

What are Bible Verses about Self Love?

Here are some Bible verses about self-love.

Ephesians 5:29

“For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.”

According to Ephesians 5:29, we should love ourselves as Christ does the church. God loves the church and we are the church. We are temples of God and at the same time, we make up the church, Christ’s body. Jesus died for us. But most of all, He lived for us who loves Him. He lived as our example, guide, and inspiration so that we can continue His work here on earth after He goes back to the Father. This is how much God loves us. This is how we should love ourselves.

Romans 5:8

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God does not wait for us to be perfect before He loves us. He loves us no matter what. He does not say “I will only love and save those with this particular number on the weighing scale.” or “I will only love and save those who are physically and mentally healthy.” He does not wait for us to achieve something or prove something. He loves us. He just does.

2 Timothy 1:7

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”

God’s love empowers us. God’s love enables us to do things we never thought we could do like forgiving those that wronged us, being humble, and thinking of others before ourselves. These are not little things. Only empowered people can do these. Be amazing and keep it in mind.

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus did not just die for us. He gave us a second chance. Once, we failed Him but He still believed in us and He believed that we could do better. He has that kind of confidence in us. How is our self-esteem? Our self-love? Do we believe in ourselves enough?

1 Corinthians 13:3

“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”

We are supposed to love everyone. We know about Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor.” We do our best. We sacrifice for them. We do our best to be inclusive, to make everyone feel welcome and loved. But most of the time, we seem to forget that “everyone” includes us too.

What is the Importance of Reading Bible Verses About Self Love?

Most of the time, it is easy to dismiss what people say. Our friends might be encouraging us, trying to uplift our spirits, or that what we are looking at as hopelessness is just another small hurdle we can easily beat. All the while, we would be staring off at a distance, unable to listen to what they are saying because a small voice inside us is already telling us that they are wrong or they are just deceived by their love for us, or that maybe they are overestimating us or something along those lines.

We can listen to them or pretend to listen and remain unconvinced. We do not believe that we are worth it. We go about our lives with our shoulders slumped forward, our lips without a smile. But the Word of God tells us otherwise. Maybe if we listen to what Bible verses say, we would be convinced of how valuable we are. Maybe when we read the psalmist saying that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, it would add a bounce to our steps.

I pray that as we read the Bible, the Spirit touches our hearts and we finally see the truth about ourselves under all the layers of self-doubt, lack of confidence, guilt, and shame. I pray that we finally see ourselves the way God sees us.

What Does the Bible Say About Self Love?

Grace and Love

Grace and love are some of the greatest messages in the Bible. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). That is grace and love. They always go hand and hand. God gives them to us freely. It is not always easy to give these to ourselves. Sometimes, we are held back by guilt, shame, and doubt. Accept God’s love, grace, and trust that He sees us as deserving of these, and hold on until we believe it and can give them to ourselves.

Forgiveness

We know that God is forgiving (2 Chronicles 30:9). We also know that we have to forgive others. We also probably know that we should also learn to forgive ourselves. The question is, do we? It might be hard to do at times especially when we know we hurt someone we love but we must know that forgiveness is important to love. More often than not, those that we see as undeserving of forgiveness are also undeserving of love in our eyes. Sadly, we are not exempted. Learn to forgive others but do not forget to forgive yourself. We make mistakes just like others do.

Die to self

When Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23).” He did not mean for us to carry an actual cross or to accept struggles and trials. What He meant here is death. Jesus Christ is not the only one to die on the cross. It used to be capital punishment in those days. Part of the punishment is carrying one’s cross before one is crucified to it.

Nobody carried a cross and did not die in those days. Well, maybe except for the man who helped Jesus carry His cross but that is another matter entirely. Carrying one’s cross means dying. So, what does this have to do with loving oneself? When we die to ourselves, we, in turn, let God live in us.

My mother taught me something important. She taught me that when it is God who lives in us, then anything and everything that the world does to us, they do to God. No matter what the world says to us or throws at us, it is God who receives that. There is no point in feeling hurt when someone is being mean. They are not being mean to us. They are being mean to God because He is now the one living in us.

Let us surrender to God everything that we feel that was caused by other people’s cruelty. Oftentimes, we see ourselves through the filter that the world gives. Our worth, our self-image, our confidence, and our self-esteem is developed intertwined with society’s standards. Let that not be the case anymore. With God living in us, let us rediscover our self-love.

How Do I Handle Self Love as a Christian?

“Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.” (Proverbs 27:2)

People tend to either love themselves too little or too much. Neither is good. God repeatedly warns us against arrogance in the Bible. Where is the balance between the two? God is love. He is perfect in His love. We find the perfect balance in His love.

We must recognize that we are sinners, that we did not do anything to deserve God’s love. There is nothing we can do to deserve God’s love. It is given to us freely through His grace and His love. Yet, we must also recognize that it is because of this grace and love that we deserve the best kind of love. If God saw us as deserving of love, then we are deserving of that love.

Maybe one of the safest to tread here is to focus on the love that Gives us and not the fame, recognition, and praise that the world can give. God’s love is humbling. Focusing on God’s perfect love helps us be humble and at the same time recognize the kind of love that we deserve. Focus on the love that God gives us.

Top 10 Bible Verses That Talk About Self Love

Romans 12:10

“Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.”

Sometimes learning to love ourselves does not come easy. Romans 12:10 shows us that perhaps a way we can do this is by learning to love others and in doing so, finding that we too are worthy of love.

2 Timothy 3:4-5

“Treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”

The Bible says that we cannot serve two masters. Let us always choose to serve and love God. We will soon learn that the kind of love the world gives is fleeting and shallow.

1 Peter 4:8

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

God’s love washed our sins away. He made us new, He gave us new lives, and He will help us love the new versions of us.

1 Corinthians 13:1

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.”

We all have talents, things we can do that other people can’t. Still, if there is no love, it is nothing according to 1 Corinthians 13:1. If we can do so many amazing things, but do not have a love for ourselves, we would still feel hollow, empty.

1 John 3:18

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

At times, the best way to succeed at something is to practice it, to do it. Words of affirmation are good but we should also practice loving ourselves. We should consciously choose things that would make us better and would make us feel better about ourselves without harming anyone and soon enough, loving ourselves would be an integral part of ourselves.

2 Timothy 3:1-2

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy.”

We may look at others and wonder how they seem to love themselves effortlessly. 2 Timothy 3:1-2 tells us that not all kinds of love are healthy. Hold on to God’s love and we would learn the right way to love ourselves.

Ephesians 2:4-5

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.”

We are worthy. Jesus showed that on the cross. God shows that truth to us every day. Embrace it.

Philippians 1:6

“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.”

God is not done with us. He is still working with us. We still have a lot to improve. Trust God’s process.

Easy to Memorize Bible Verses About Self Love and Worth

Psalm 139:13

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

1 John 4:19

“We love because God loved us first.”

James 2:8

“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.”

Luke 12:7

“Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

5 Encouraging Bible Verses for Women Who Struggle with Self-worth

Ephesians 5:33

“However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

Ephesians 5:33 shows us the kind of love we should be receiving from our partners. We made a vow, we sacrificed things we valued. The love we receive should be worthy of all that.

Psalm 139:14

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Psalm 139:14 is one of the most powerful verses in the Bible. We have been created in God’s image from our mother’s womb and God saw that it was good. We must accept this fact and live accordingly.

Ephesians 2:10

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

We have a purpose. God did not create us to roam the world aimlessly. There is something that is set aside for us to do; a task that we are best suited for.

1 Corinthians 13:2

“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”

The Bible is full of stories of people who performed miracles. Still, Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:2 that if love is not present, he is nothing. Let us give meaning to the things we have in our life by giving ourselves some love.

1 John 4:18

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

There are so many reasons to be scared these days. Yet, 1 John 4:8 tells us that love drives away fear. If we love ourselves, we would not fear rejection, criticism, and so many other things that the world can throw our way.

Self-Love and Christianity Today

“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

These are the greatest commandments according to Jesus. We must love God with all our being and we should love others as we love ourselves. So, the question is, how do we love ourselves? Based on the verse, the way we love ourselves will ultimately be how we love others.

Ever experienced doubting those that you love without any rational reason? Or maybe giving love with conditions attached to it? This makes me wonder. Do we love others this way because this is the way we love ourselves?

Sometimes, it is easier to see that others deserve love but low self-esteem, depression, and many others prevent us from seeing ourselves that way too. The Bible always tells us to do good to one another. But, we should always keep in mind that if Matthew 22:37-40 teaches us that others are worthy of love, the Bible is saying the same thing to them about us. The Bible is telling them to love us. Why? Because we deserve it.

If, for now, you cannot love yourself for yourself, love yourself for others. Make sure that they receive the kind of love they deserve. Make sure they receive the kind of love the Lord wants them to receive.

In Summary

Loving seems too simple and complicated at the same time and yet, we need love. We receive love from God unconditionally. We receive love from other people – family, partners, friends. We can have all the love in the world and it still would not be enough if we do not have a love for ourselves. We must love and take care of ourselves. Let us keep at this endeavor and may God bless us richly.