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We hear a lot about “self-care” these days. Some scoff at it as weakness or a waste of time that could be better used in other ways. Thing is, the Bible is all about self-care. The 23rd Psalm would be one example.
One pastor writing about this issue said that Americans both overvalue and undervalue self-care. And he’s right. And each side can easily point to the other to justify going too far in the other direction.
Self-care is usually defined as taking care of our physical and mental health. Eat right, exercise, get enough sleep, and do things that relax us or that we enjoy. But what about our spiritual self?
When I was a young adult, I was a counsellor for half a dozen week long youth camps. Sleep was a rare thing for that week, averaging four hours a night. But I got in the habit of being the first one up so I could have a time of prayer before the day got going. I found that half hour of time with the Lord was better for me than an extra half hour of sleep.
Over the years, I’ve strayed from that at times. But I always come back to it because I know how important it is for me. I have recently joined our church’s Bible reading program. I’ve been doing that with an audio Bible, but when something hooks me, I go back and read or study it a bit. And I’ve dipped my toe in the online group discussion about the passages read.
Do you need more time in the Word? What about prayer? Would more of those do you more good than what you would cut back to make time for it?
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Well said. Being an “American of age” (55), I see a lot in my family where I end up looking up Mayo’s advice for certain conditions, and what’s top on the list as a rule is various methods for self-care. I see the same thing spiritually; when someone is not doing well spiritually, I very often see they’re not taking care of themselves with Scripture and prayer.
@Robert Perry – Most of us are too busy to take care of ourselves!