Caring for Yourself and Others

 

As the COVID-19pandemic drags on everyone is experiencing fatigue on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level. Normally, when we go through hardships there are others in our community who can minister to us from a position of strength. However, the challenge of COVID-19 is that no one is unaffected, we must all be both patient and physician at once. On airplanes, they tell you that in the event of an emergency you are to put on your own oxygen mask first, and then assist others because you can’t help anyone once you are passed out.  The goal of  “Caring for Yourself and Others” is to teach us how to put on our masks, and then help those around us put on theirs too. It is as we learn to rely upon the resources we have in Christ, that we can be a resource to others.

 

1. Is Self-Care Biblical?

We are clearly commanded to care for others in the Bible, but is it ok to care for ourselves? What we will see in this video is that the Bible constantly assumes we will and should care for ourselves. Even the call to “love your neighbour as yourself” is built on the assumes we will care for ourselves. So self-care is more than ok, and the only thing we need to avoid is selfish care. 

2. Jesus Practiced Self Care

Jesus actually gives us an example of self-care. First of all in his teachings to his disciple, and second in his own life. So let’s take a look at his words and life, letting him challenge and change how we think about self-care.

3. Asking for Help

Before we go any further, it's important to clarify that self-care doesn’t mean self-reliance. It is ok to not be ok. And when we’re not ok, the wisest, most biblical thing we can do is to reach out for help. Of course, this starts with God, but it also includes other people.

4. Be Holistic

As Christians, we tend to think of ourselves as spirits, who happen to have a body. However, Biblically our body is an intrinsic, essential part of who we are. So taking care of it is an important part of taking care of ourselves, and will affect our overall wellbeing.

5. Don’t Discount Devotionals

It would be an oversimplification to say all we need is a devotional life and all our struggles will go away. But at the same time, it would be foolish to downplay the importance of spending time with God. So let's talk about how to build devotional time into our life

6. Not Knowing What to Say

We talked previously about asking for help when we need it. The flip side if this is others asking us for help. But the challenge this brings is often we don’t know what to say. So we will see it is ok not to have all the answers and solutions, as well as what we can do when people ask for help.

7. Grumbling with God

One of the biggest barriers to caring for ourselves and others is the negative attitude we can have towards grumbling and complaining. This can stop us and others from working through spiritual issues. But the good news is God invites us to grumble, and calls us to extend that invitation to others.