Self love can be confusing for Christians. On one hand, we’re warned about putting ourselves before others or focusing too much on our own needs and desires to the detriment of our brothers and sisters.

On the other hand, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church points out, “Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality.” (2264)

Jesus’ admonition to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31, Leviticus 19:18) would make no sense were not an appropriate love of self intended and demanded by God. As is often the case, appropriate balance is essential.

It is absolutely appropriate to have a deep love of self since in so doing one is merely loving what God has first loved into being. But that love of self begins to be sinful if it becomes selfish, self-centered, or otherwise exaggerated or disordered.

A natural manifestation of the love of self intended by God is the manner in which we care for ourselves. Since our bodies are an essential component of our identity as human beings, it follows that we must extend that love to our physical selves.

We cannot love ourselves fully if we focus our love only on one part of our existence to the exclusion of the rest. This is precisely where the appropriate concern for our physical health becomes a moral issue — and one that touches upon many different daily choices we make.

Giving our bodies what they need to be at their optimum takes real virtue on our part. It takes balance, self-control and prudence to name a few.

In this manner we can liken our relationship with our bodies to that of a parent and a child. A parent shows love for a child largely through the care he or she provides. A loving parent does everything in his or her power to ensure the child has its needs met, so that the child can not only survive, but thrive.

And a loving parent does this even when it is difficult to do.

Likewise, caring for our bodies is a way in which we recognize their importance and worth. Hence, providing the body with what it needs becomes an act of love toward self.

For purposes here, we need not look at all the myriad ways in which this might be carried out, but can instead focus on a few basics. For example, the body needs appropriate nutrition, rest and exercise if it is to function well. Failing to offer the body these things when one has the ability to, can become a lack of appropriate love of self. Insofar as it is freely chosen, it becomes a moral failure on our part.

If I have the ability to eat in a relatively healthy manner but consistently choose to eat food which is not truly nourishing or healthy, I am in some way failing to love myself as I should or could.

If I have the ability to engage in regular exercise but choose not to (perhaps simply out of laziness), then again, I have failed to love myself in some way. The same can be said for other areas of our physical health.

Does this mean that I must always pass on dessert or can never skip a workout? Of course not. But looking at our consistent choices gives us great insight into how well we’re loving ourselves in the daily decisions we make regarding the care of our own bodies.

The better I treat the life which has been entrusted to my care — recognizing it as a valuable gift from God — the more I can say I’m actually loving myself.

Again, building healthy habits — whether spiritual or physical — takes real virtue, and the only way to build any virtue is to make choices consistent with that virtue. If I want to love myself as God intends, it will mean taking good care of the body He’s gifted me with.