Always look out for #1 is a lesson all of us learn early on in life. It is an ironclad universal truth that rings as true on elementary playgrounds as it does in the corporate board room. Or does it?

If you find yourself disagreeing with me consider this; if it was the mantra of Jesus Christ there would be no Easter to celebrate. No living Savior. Jesus would not even be a name you and I would recognize with any certainty. Why? Because every action Jesus did, from coming down to this earth to dying on the cross, went against the idea of looking out for #1.

1 John 2:16 states: “…the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world.” We can actually love ourselves too much. Innate in all of us is the desire to care for our own bodies. To preserve our own lives. But when this self-care turns into self-love and even self-pride, it can become very ugly. Why do people steal? Why do people kill? They do so because they love themselves more than anyone or anything else. Consider this; if you were the pinnacle of all importance, what would you be willing to do to get the things you want? We can all remember the stories of kids being murdered for a pair of AirJordans or a Starter jacket. We can all recall the stories of deception and murder in the banking world. These things are all too common.

We may have all been taught that looking out for #1 is important, but let’s just remember the teacher who taught us that concept; the world. The world shows little concern for you or I. The World is more than willing to walk right over us should we happen to fall. This doesn’t sound like a teacher from which I want to learn how to love.

Many of the things we know we must unlearn. We must actively seek God and His ideals. We must relearn, or in truth learn for the first time, what love really is all about. We must choose to transpose the love we have for ourselves to those around us who are in need. I believe we will find that this is the best way to love ourselves. This is the way Jesus loved. It’s the way He called His followers to love. And you will soon find out it really is the only true way to love at all.

Do you know someone who exhibits the right kind of love? Share with us who they are and their story.