Lately, it's popped up in so many podcasts I've listened to, YouTube videos I've watched, Instagram posts I've scrolled past, even a whole new big drive at my work. It's everywhere.
The basic premise is to encourage us to take care of ourselves in all aspects: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It charges you to take time to exercise, eat healthy, relax, take a deep breath, drink more water, cry it all out or whatever it may be that you feel your body or mind or heart needs in the moment.
I totally agree with taking care of ourselves. I think it’s very good for people to take care of their own body and emotional well-being and to actively work to be at least moderately healthy in all aspects. Jesus calls us to love our neighbours as ourselves (Matt 22:39) which inherently implies we should be loving ourselves. I actually think you can love and care for others better if you are taking the time to first properly care for yourself. So to most extents, I agree with the concept behind the movement.
But what does not sit well with me is the catch-phrase used to describe this movement: self-love.
It just sounds so extremely self-centered, putting all the focus on ME!—my wants, my needs, my feelings, taking care of me. It's all about me. And I can't buy into this, because I believe that as a Christian, my top focus is not me. It's God first, and others second.
Matthew 22:37-39 "Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"
Yes, in order to love God and love people with all my heart, mind and strength, I need to take care of my heart, mind and body. So I guess we could say that taking care of our bodies is Biblical. This body is not meant to last forever, so it is in no way the end goal, but it is a very useful tool in living and serving God. But the heart behind it is not quite like the 'self-care' movement. I believe we are commanded to care for ourselves because it enables us to glorify God and carry out the things he has for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Here are some more scriptures that tell us to both care for and use our bodies for God’s glory:
Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercy of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Although God will with open arms accept any form of sacrifice we bring him, surely it would be better if we were able to bring more than a shell of an empty person to him? By spending time (but not obsessing! NB!!) on the things that keep us healthy, inside and out, we'll be able to love and give and serve and lay down rich lives before our King.
1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Even the smallest acts of eating and drinking can be used to glorify God. Something as simple as excessive gorging on junk food—probably not so glorifying to God as it shows us searching for comfort in something other than him. Or choosing not to drink alcohol excessively—this glorifies God as it is submitting to God's call to live sober and self-controlled lives. These are little choices of a healthy lifestyle that glorify our God.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
This verse reminds us that the decisions we make impact our bodies—physically, emotionally, mentally. The context is aimed toward sexual sin, which definitely impacts all the aspects of our lives. But I think in all ways, our bodies, a temple of the Holy Spirit, are directly impacted by our lifestyles. So I believe that making healthy choices—the food I eat, the shows I watch, the people I allow to influence me, the thoughts I wallow in, etc etc— sets me up stronger to be able to glorify God with my body and life.
So if you follow Jesus but also want to buy into this self-love movement, can I challenge you to take a moment to consider the why? Is it for your glory or for God's? Let's look after and steward well the things God has entrusted to us, including our own bodies and minds. But at the same time, let's make sure our motives are rightly rooted in Biblical truth and gospel, sacrificial, 'for something bigger than me' living.
We are commanded to care for the body God gave us for his glory because our body is not our own and has been bought by his precious blood. Yes, in doing so I'm loving and caring for my own body, too, but ultimately it puts the focus rightly back on Jesus where it's always supposed to be and no longer on ME!.
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