God-Centered Self-Care

Self-care is a phrase that seems to get a lot of negative attention in the Christian community. While it is obvious that God expects us to nourish our bodies, minds, and spirits, the word "self" seems to leave a bad taste in the mouths of believers. We have somehow determined "self" is selfish and therefore we avoid anything with "self" in the phrase as not to become focused on our needs and forget about others. The definition of self is the individual; the qualities distinguishing one person from another. We can agree that we all have a "self" and that "self" was created by God in the image of God with unique traits that make us different from one another. When we are selfish we are being excessively concerned with ourselves and having little regard for others. When we are caring for ourselves we are honoring God's creation and essentially surrendering our will to His by choosing to do what is right for our bodies, minds, and spirits. This is God-centered self-care. Paul told the Corinthians " Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? Therefore honor God with your body" (6: 19-20). I believe most of us know this truth deep inside our hearts, but the enemy uses guilt and condemnation to keep us from doing what is required to refuel ourselves and become who God created us to be. As a result autoimmune diseases are rising, mental health issues are worsening, and people are just plain exhausted, stressed out, and over the whole mess that life has become in the last couple of years. We feel like we are running out of control and we are running out of hope for better things in the midst of loss after loss. Our thoughts become actions and the things we say and do affect more than just one person. It has a ripple effect that can be felt further than what you might realize. Attitudes are contagious and we pass those negative thoughts around to our spouses, our children, and whoever else we come into contact with throughout the day. We know we can't pour from empty cups so we take five minutes to pray and "fill up" and our cups are half full and contaminated. We can pour out to others from the contamination, and we often do, but should we REALLY be satisfied with possibly contaminating another human who truly needs to experience the goodness of our God? It is time to flip the stigma, guilt, and condemnation that the enemy has put us under and begin to discipline ourselves to take care of the whole body God assigned to us on this earth. It is possible to achieve self-care that is God-centered and not at all selfish!

My desire is God's desire. I want to see humans flourishing the way God intended. We have to learn to take care of ourselves and I am not just talking about bubble baths, spa days, or girls/guys night out here, although those things are amazing and I encourage all of these things from time to time! Self-care is not just about indulging in the pleasures of this life. It is about being accountable to God for changing mindsets, attitudes, and behaviors that contaminate the cups we are pouring out of. The world has its problems, there is no denying that, but the truth is that most often, we are the problem and we are responsible for changing. The process is not always fun and sometimes it hurts but it is necessary if we want to be God's light in this world. It is through choosing to fully surrender to God and saying yes to His plan and purpose that seed is planted and true flourishing begins. The world needs to crave what we have, for that to happen, we need to be completely filled to overflowing and pouring out that fresh oil to anyone who will receive it.

I hope you will continue this journey with me as I explore the many different dimensions of how we truly care for ourselves and the effects this has on our families and communities. What we pour into our families is what contributes to how our societies function since our families become the society we live in. My next articles will go into more detail about contaminated cups and taking accountability for our attitudes and behaviors, I know I have days where the struggle to keep my attitude right is an all-day effort! I write what I live and I hope that by doing so, I can help someone else change for the better. We are all a work in progress and will be until we reach our final destination in heaven! Keep pressing forward and helping others who have fallen along the way!