Taking Care Of Yourself

Taking Care of Yourself

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? . . . God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NIV)

A WIFE SAID TO ME RECENTLY, “I’m so busy with my family, my job, and my church that I feel like I don’t have any time for me.” Is this wife being self-centered? Not at all. She is trying to balance her priorities. Believing that we are made in God’s image and that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, most Christians would agree that among their list of priorities should be caring for their own physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3 that as believers, we are God’s sacred temple because the Holy Spirit lives in us. The desire to be a fitting temple should provide motivation to take care of ourselves. Quoting Old Testament law, Jesus told his hearers that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (see Matthew 22:39). The Christian who does not give adequate attention to his own needs will not long love and serve his neighbor.

In marriage, we must help each other find time for personal development. The husband who takes responsibility for the children while his wife takes a walk or reads a book is being a spiritual leader. He is looking out for his wife’s well-being. When the wife returns the favor, she is serving God by serving her husband. Helping each other find time for self-renewal physically, emotionally, and spiritually is an important element of a growing marriage.

Lord God, I am in awe that the Holy Spirit resides in me. I know that I can never be a worthy temple without your help, so I pray that you will cleanse me. Help me to take the necessary time for myself so that I may be rejuvenated physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Show me how to provide that for my spouse as well.

Self-care