27
Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thy ordinary food, and delivered thee to the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of thy lewd way.
Ezekiel 16:27
The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Teachings #65
65. Love for Ourselves and Love for the World
Love for ourselves is intending benefit only to ourselves and not to others unless it is in our own interests-having no goodwill toward the church or our country or toward any group of people or any fellow citizen. It is also being good to the church, our country, and other people only for the sake of our own reputation, advancement, or praise, so that unless we see some such reward in the good we may do for them we say at heart, "What's the use? Why should I? What's in it for me?" and forget about it. This shows that when we live a life of self-love we are not loving the church, our country, our community, our fellow citizens, or anything worthwhile-only ourselves.
