Music Discussions

Love Yourself

May 12, 2016

Dynamic Image Main Point of Discussion:
Loving attitudes and actions build us up, while selfish attitudes and actions destroy our relationships

Introducing The Song:
When you first hear the title of Justin Beiber’s latest hit “Love Yourself,” you think that it’s going to be an uplifting and positive thinking song.

But…not so much

It’s not an EVIL or over the top torrent of negativity, but the Beibs definitely has some strong feelings he’s processing through! As well, he is touching on a very common situation here, and that is getting along with someone you care about. What’s the trick to getting along? Is Biebs right? What does the Bible say?

The Music Video:
The music video can be played for free at https://youtu.be/oyEuk8j8imI

Song Lyrics:

“Love Yourself”

For all the times that you rain on my parade
And all the clubs you get in using my name
You think you broke my heart, oh, girl for goodness’ sake
You think I’m crying on my own. Well, I ain’t
And I didn’t wanna write a song
‘Cause I didn’t want anyone thinking I still care. I don’t,
But you still hit my phone up
And, baby, I be movin’ on
And I think you should be somethin’ I don’t wanna hold back,
Maybe you should know that
My mama don’t like you and she likes everyone
And I never like to admit that I was wrong
And I’ve been so caught up in my job,
Didn’t see what’s going on
But now I know,
I’m better sleeping on my own
‘Cause if you like the way you look that much
Oh, baby, you should go and love yourself
And if you think that I’m still holdin’ on to somethin’
You should go and love yourself
And when you told me that you hated my friends
The only problem was with you and not them
And every time you told me my opinion was wrong
And tried to make me forget where I came from
And I didn’t wanna write a song
‘Cause I didn’t want anyone thinking I still care. I don’t,
But you still hit my phone up
And, baby, I be movin’ on
And I think you should be somethin’ I don’t wanna hold back,
Maybe you should know that
My mama don’t like you and she likes everyone
And I never like to admit that I was wrong
And I’ve been so caught up in my job,
Didn’t see what’s going on
But now I know,
I’m better sleeping on my own
‘Cause if you like the way you look that much
Oh, baby, you should go and love yourself
And if you think that I’m still holdin’ on to somethin’
You should go and love yourself
For all the times that you made me feel small
I fell in love. Now I feel nothin’ at all
And never felt so low when I was vulnerable
Was I a fool to let you break down my walls?
‘Cause if you like the way you look that much
Oh, baby, you should go and love yourself
And if you think that I’m still holdin’ on to somethin’
You should go and love yourself
‘Cause if you like the way you look that much
Oh, baby, you should go and love yourself
And if you think (you think) that I’m (that I’m) still holdin’ on (holdin’ on) to somethin’
You should go and love yourself

Transitional Statement:
(Say something like this…) Anyone who has been in an important relationship can most likely relate to this song- maybe that’s why the video has over 500,000,000 views? And it’s obvious that Bieber must have had some painful experiences and hurtful conversations with Selena-ahem- I mean some random girl.

But at the end of the day, holding onto bitterness might not be the best way to work through the pain of relationships, and considering how important getting along with others is in life, we need to take at look at the wisdom that the Creator of all relationships offers in His Word. Let’s talk about that now.

Divide into Small Groups:
Let’s go ahead and split up into our discussion groups, and then afterward we’ll come back together for a final word.

CLICK HERE for a quick training article on how to maximize your small groups using our small group format—a great resource to equip your small group leaders.

Discussion Questions:

AROUND THE CIRCLE: Before we dive in, everybody take a few minutes and talk about your first ‘best friend’ experience

ASK A FEW: What was your first fight with that friend about?

ASK A FEW: Did it get resolved? Why or why not?

ASK A FEW: Why do you think God created us with such a deep need for friendships and relationships?

ASK A FEW: What do you think are the main things that Justin is angry over in this song?

ASK A FEW: What do you think he means by ‘go love yourself’?

ASK A FEW: Do you think writing the song has helped him feel better about the pain from that experience? Why or why not?

Read the following passage from the Bible:

For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.

ASK A FEW: How many commandments do you think are in the ‘whole law’? (Note: Scholars agree that there are 613 laws in the Old Testament)

ASK A FEW: How can the one single command of loving our neighbor as ourselves sum up 613 other ones?

ASK A FEW: How does the Bible define ‘neighbor’? (i.e. Parable of The Good Samaritan- all people are our ‘neighbors’)

ASK A FEW: What does it mean to ‘bite’ and ‘devour’ in a verbal way?

ASK A FEW: Do you think that there is ‘biting and devouring’ going on in ‘Love Yourself’? Why or why not?

ASK A FEW: What are the main differences between someone who loves themself vs. someone who loves others?

ASK A FEW: Do you believe that insults and sarcasm can actually destroy us and the ones we are frustrated with? Why or why not?

AROUND THE CIRCLE: What is one specific way that we as Christ followers can focus on loving our neighbors and avoiding ‘biting and devouring’ each other?

Wrap Up:
Like Justin Bieber, we all will face relational difficulties that might tempt us to bite and devour other people with harsh words and unkind thoughts. It’s at those times we need to focus on our calling to love our neighbor and forgive them so that we can enjoy the freedom from bitterness that Jesus purchased for us on the Cross.

Close in prayer

Written by Lane Palmer