Imagine that all the love, affection, and resources (time, finances, emotional space, etc.) that each of us has is a pie. This pie may be larger or smaller depending on capacity and circumstances in a person’s life. Now, in order to be healthy and satisfied, each person must constantly be consuming an entire pie. But, after eating a single slice of our own pie, the rest of our pie cannot satisfy us or give us any nutritional value. What are we to do? We must give ourselves the first slice of our pie. This is self-love or self-care. That first slice imbues all of the other slices of our pie with nutritional value. But, after we have consumed the first slice of our own pie, the rest of our pie will give us nothing if we eat it ourselves. We must give the other slices of our pie to other people. Still, we must consume a whole pie to be satisfied, so others must give to us as well. In a healthy, functioning society and group, it would look like this: each of us eats our own first slice
The fourth chapter of the book of Luke describes the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. Since we are all Christ, we all endure this in various ways: 1 Then Jesus, remembering that He was Christ and fully Divine, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into a place of lack and hunger 2 so he could be tempted for this time. He had nothing that could fulfill his need, and afterward his need was great. 3 And the tempter said to Him, "You can't really be Christ if you feel so low and down and needy. If you were really Christ, you could provide everything for yourself easily!" 4 But Jesus answered him saying, "It is not what I do that makes Me Christ, but who I AM." 5 Then the tempter, seeing the great need and lack that Christ was walking in, took Him up to a high mountain and showed Him the answer and fulfillment to every one of his needs. 6 Then the tempter said to him, "I will give you everything you need. I will love and support you. I will