be kind

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

- Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)

 

Love your neighbor as yourself.
When most of us hear this verse, we think about things that are going on around us,  there is a lot of anger and hate being spread in the world today.

But what if we look a little deeper than normal, and think about how we love ourselves?
Tenth Avenue North released their song Kind To Myself recently, and they posted these words on Instagram:
“If God leads us to change through kindness, why do we try to shame ourselves into it? Let's start speaking to ourselves the way He does—with grace, love, and curiosity. Our new single ‘Kind To Myself’ talks about this”.

Here are the lyrics:
I've tried to hate myself

Thinking that’s how things will change

But it never helps

Piling up the blame

Fighting fire with fire

Hurt with more hurt

Breaking my own heart

Makes everything worse

I gotta be kind, kind to myself

Cause I can’t change, change any way else

If the kindness of my Savior

Is how He changes me

Then I can be kind, kind to myself

I know it sounds insane

But the old way wasn't working

I try to medicate

When the pain's under the surfacе

I've never hеaled by powering through

I had to learn how to see me

The way that You do

I gotta be kind, kind to myself

Cause I can’t change, change any way else

If the kindness of my Savior

Is how He changes me

Then I can be kind, kind to myself

Yeah (Kind)

Don’t misunderstand (Kind)

It’s not permission (Kind)

It’s conviction over condemnation (Kind)

Oh the curious love of God (Kind)

It's such a better and sweeter song (Kind)

Has a way of showing me

What’s really going on, going on, yeah

What does the voice in your head sound like when you fail for the thousandth time?

Is it cruel or is it kind?

Oh, I gotta be kind, kind to myself

Cause I can’t change, change any way else

If the kindness of my Savior

Is how He changes me

I can be kind, kind to myself

I have hated myself.

A lot.

Often.

Why? 

Maybe if we were not so hard on ourselves, we’d find it easier to love our neighbors.

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible