When Self Care Becomes Sacrificial
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34b
Self sacrifice can be defined as denying our self, giving up what is ours or making others more important than our self. As noted when Jesus stated to His disciples, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, the servant of all” (Mark 9:35b). Another time in Mark 12:42, Jesus drew attention to a widow who gave two copper coins, which was all she had. Amazing sacrifice…; more than we could imagine doing. Though, what motivated her to give all she had?
Several reasons for “giving up” are possible, though one comes from deep inside is our need to give. An act of sacrifice generally benefits both the recipient and the giver. Though sacrifice, just for the sake of giving up, not for love, spiritual or physical health reasons has little value.
Ultimately, self sacrifice draws us closer to God; caring for our own intimate need for God. Like self care, though it sounds selfish, giving to our self is loving our self. Not to be confused with selfishness, gluttony or arrogance. We can first give food to our neighbor then eat enough for our self. Or give up our seat in front for another while gaining a humble heart.
Other forms of loving our self can be:
1. Getting a hair cut, trimming fingernails, taking a shower, brushing teeth, etc.
2. Going to college to prepare to minister and/or get a job.
3. Eating 2-3 meals a day and sleeping at night.
4. Getting a vaccination, medication or a cavity filled.
5. Saying “no” to unhealthy snacks and “yes” to fruits and vegetables.
While having a cavity filled or exercising regularly is for our own good, these actions will also enable us to serve others. When Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself”, was Jesus saying you have to love yourself when you love someone else?
Taking care of a personal need takes loving our self in spite of the discomfort (need for patience), rather than neglecting (not sacrifice) our self. Either way we look at self care and self sacrifice, as both difficult (giving up) and beneficial (receiving).
Challenge:
- Do you find yourself neglecting your needs or your health?
- Is it easier to help someone else than to take time to care for yourself?
- What is one way you can practice self care today?
Yes, I find myself neglecting myself, especially my health, when I'm serving others. It's a tricky balance, though, because it's easy to get caught up thinking we need to be in top performance to serve others when in fact the Bible tells us specifically that we're going to suffer, even lose sleep, in our ministry.
In general, I think that serving others is always the best option. Sometimes it's just a matter of learning how to best serve others. Sometimes that might mean getting some sleep so you're coherent the next day. As a whole, I think we tend to take care of ourselves way too much, but there are certain cases where doing some simple things would indirectly help others more than if we let ourselves go.
This is an interesting site – it's made me rethink some assumptions I had when I first arrived.
-Marshall Jones Jr.