What does the bible say about self-care? The first scripture that comes to mind is Matthew 16:24 NLT which says, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways (some translations say self), take up your cross and follow me.” So, do we deny ourselves, or is it okay for us to take care of ourselves? We hear a lot these days about self-care.

Most of us understand that when we came to Christ, it was important to see that in and of ourselves, we were in a mess and in need of a Savior. According to Ephesians 2:1-3 and Romans 5:8, we were sinners, dead in our trespasses and sins. This means we could not relate to God in any way, because our sin completely separated us. Therefore, the wall of sin had to be torn down to reconcile us to God. Jesus took care of that by shedding his blood on the cross to pay for our sin, and to exchange our sinful self for HIS righteousness. This made us acceptable to God, and this fact welcomed us into His presence. My prayer is that everyone reading this has understood the gospel and received the gift of salvation. Colossians 1:13 NLT tells us that we were rescued from the kingdom of darkness (being IN Adam) and transferred into the Kingdom of his dear Son. We were placed IN Christ. We are IN HIM, and HE is IN us. What else happened? According to Galatians 2:20 my old self was crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. Colossians 1 tells us to put off the old self with all its old practices. When you come to verse 10 NKJV it says to “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Does this mean we are all cookie cut Christians looking exactly alike? Absolutely not. We are all custom made by our Creator. He delights in the ways we uniquely express the life of God to others through our different personalities.

Here is another way to look at this subject. We are also told to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Mark 12:31) How can we love others if we do not love ourselves? What do you do for people that you love? You take care of them. You keep them out of harm’s way. You honor them. I Cor. 6:19 NASB also tells us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you from whom you have from God. You are not your own. In other words, you belong to your Heavenly Father who created you in His image. We should take care of this temple through what we eat, what we do and how we rest. Self-care. Or you may have to place boundaries in certain relationships for your mental health. Self-Care. Or you may take some time to go to a counselor to help sort out your thoughts, heal your heart or seek direction. Self-care.

My desire is to help people see the importance of self-care. Listen to Col. 2:18, “Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial …their sinful minds have made them proud.

I John 3:21 tells us if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God. I think we all know when our hearts are at rest. Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” I love this verse because when you grow up in a home that teaches, you are responsible for other’s feelings, it is like a breath of fresh TRUTH air. We can stand firm in our thoughts on self-care if we have a peace from God in our hearts. However, we will be misunderstood at times. But that’s okay. We are in good company. Jesus was misunderstood all the time.