“Self-Care”
“Love Yourself”
These familiar phrases are part of today’s “self-esteem” agenda, which is being marketed aggressively through social media, women’s rights groups, billboards, commercials, and everywhere we look! While all of this may sound good, it is an unbiblical opinion for which we should be on guard. One of the self-love mantras say, “You can’t take care of others unless you take care of yourself first.” While perhaps true in some respects, we must remember to always put Jesus first and foremost in our lives.
Part of a woman’s nature is to be concerned about the welfare of others, especially when it is the wellbeing of those she loves and with whom God has entrusted her. There is nothing wrong with this. However, we ladies sometimes become distracted by the affairs of others so that we neglect the most important Person in our lives.
When the Lord came to visit Mary and Martha (Luke 10), Martha was so busy, serving and making sure everything was just right for the Son of God, that she neglected the fact that Jesus was present with her. She even became bothered by the fact that her sister was not helping. However, Jesus gently pointed out that Mary had chosen “the good part.” This lesson is a good reminder for all of us; we should make sure to choose “the good part” first. We must not neglect our personal walk with the Lord because we are “cumbered about with much serving.”
Psalm 69:13 says, But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. One day during my personal Bible reading, the words in this verse, …as for me…, caught my attention. This little phrase really resonated with me. It is no wonder that God’s perspective differs so greatly from the world’s view of “self-care.” I wrote down a few situations in the Bible where the words, “as for me,” explain God’s thoughts on the matter.
Psalm 55:1-23 – God expects our dependence on Him and our trust in His faithfulness to us.
David spent this whole psalm focused in conversation between himself and God over his enemies. He boldly proclaims in verse 16, As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. If we are to have the faith of David, this means to trust God’s protection, even when friends and family stand against us. He wants us to lean on Him when we are betrayed by those closest to us. When burdens seem to overwhelm our souls, He expects us to run to Him first and foremost.
Joshua 24:14-15 – God expects our lives to be dedicated to His service.
Joshua had come to the end of his life, and in this passage, he spoke to God’s people. Even among them, there were those who were not serving God. Joshua made this declaration in verse 15, …but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Joshua basically told them that, while he could not control what other men and their families did, he was determining that his household would serve God. Just like Joshua, what others will do about serving God might be out of our control, but we each can determine our household will give God our lives and serve Him.
I Samuel 12:20-24 – God expects us to pray, especially for others.
As Samuel was reproving the people for their ingratitude, he declared in verse 23, …as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you… Samuel was not going to stop praying for the people, even if they really did not deserve God’s blessings, because it was what God wanted him to do. God expects us to pray for others. Our prayers for others can be the turning point, but how will we ever know if we do not obey God’s command to do so? At the end of the book of Job, God changed Job’s situation when Job prayed for his friends. Imagine if Job had not prayed for them. Would he have died in pain and alone on the ash heap? We may never know how powerful and important our prayers for others were until we get to Heaven.
Often, we wish we could help those who are struggling; we want to “fix” their problems. We can find ourselves working to figure out the best way to provide help and relief, when prayer for them should be the first thing we do. In many cases, the only way we can help others is to take their needs to the only One Who can provide them.
I Chronicles 22:1-10 – God wants us to surrender our personal plans and dreams to Him.
One of the greatest desires of King David’s heart was to build the Temple for the people of Israel. Although a noble desire, it was not God’s plan for his life. Instead, God wanted this to be accomplished by David’s son Solomon, the soon-to-be King of Israel. In II Chronicles 28:1-10, King David told the people of God’s choice to have Solomon be the one to build the Temple and then encouraged his son to do so.
Many times, our ideas do not work out like we had planned and hoped because God has other ideas. His ways are always above our ways. Instead of dwelling on our disappointment in unfulfilled or broken dreams, we can rejoice that God may be using us in preparing the next generation to do His work. We cannot be selfish with our dreams and plans; we should submit them to the Lord and realize His ways are best.
Let us all determine to dismiss the humanistic “self-love” of the world. Let us become “as for me” servants of the God Who has all the love we will ever need!
But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord. – Psalm 26:11-12
by Erin Montgomery
