Self-care is a popular catch phrase in our world today, but the question is: Are we approaching this topic from a worldly view or a biblical view? While the world tells us to prioritize “me time” and indulge in temporary fixes and chase self-fulfillment, God’s Word offers us a deeper, more soul refreshing approach. Biblical self-care, or what we like to call “soul care”, focuses on nurturing the spirit, aligning our priorities with God’s will, and finding true rest in Him. Let’s explore some of the key differences between these two approaches and discover how caring for ourselves God’s way leads to lasting peace, purpose, and joy.

Worldly self-care often focuses on treating yourself whether through indulgent gifts or spa days, or just moments of self-appreciation. It doesn’t help that we have a cultural narrative that encourages people to prioritize their own happiness over anyone or anything else. The world has a catchy motto of embracing self-love and finding joy in celebrating yourself regardless of your relationship status. And while some of the practices the world encourages can provide temporary satisfaction, they are ultimately rooted in personal gratification and external validation. That’s not to say that Christians have the right definition either because there are some believers that go to the opposite extreme and say that you should not care about your own needs – and that is not what the bible teaches. So we have to be careful that we don’t fall to either extreme.

Honestly, we’re not too keen on that phrase “self-care.” It’s as if there’s no one else to take care of you and that you’re the only one who can fulfill all of your needs and desires in the world – and that’s not true. God tells us in His Word that He will never leave us or forsake us. He tells us in His Word that He will provide all our needs. He tells us He loves us and cares for us and knows all about us, including the number of hairs on our head.

The bible is all about how to take care of ourselves, how to take care of our mind, body, and soul. And while sometimes as believers we get really irritated with the secular agenda of “me, myself, and I”, and self-care/self-love, we fail to recognize what the bible says. Consider, for example, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 where the Apostle Paul tells us that our body is not our own and as believers we belong to God. It’s not self-care in the sense that it’s for ourselves, but rather “body care” because we are the Lord’s. We should be good stewards of the bodies that God has given us. That includes using our bodies for Him.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Several versions of the Bible, including the NKJV, mention the body and the spirit in verse 20. Glorify God in your body and in your spirit. That’s important because when we think of self-care just as a general term, we typically think of it in an external sense taking care of the outside of you. But soul care (biblical self-care) is also taking care of the inside of you. It’s the whole person. You can’t neglect taking care of your soul, investing time in your Bible reading, praying, and growing in your spiritual life because that is part of yourself. If you neglect that part of you, you’re not completing full self-care according to the bible. We are not just a body. We have a mind, and we have a spirit. All components of our being are to be cared for. The key is doing it in a way that brings honor and glory to God. Worldly self-care is often missing that aspect of caring for themselves in a way that brings honor and glory to God. The bible talks about this in 2 Timothy 3:1-4 where it describes people who are lovers of self.

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,”

That whole passage starts out with “lovers of self.” It proceeds to describe what it looks like in the world to love yourself – to be so conceited and self-centered, obsessing over you (“me, myself, and I”). That’s not to say that you can’t take care of yourself in any form or fashion, but rather don’t prioritize your own interests above others. That is a concept that is clearly and repeatedly warned against in Scripture. Instead, the Bible promotes humility. Humility and selflessness are character traits that should be part of a Christian. Jesus is our example. He took the cross. He lived a selfless life, while doing all things to glorify God and He did not disregard care of His mind, body, and soul. He of all people set the example by stepping away from the crowds, going to sleep, getting rest, taking a nap, having quiet time in prayer to His Father God.

It’s vital that we take care of the body that God has given us because the Bible says that it is just a vessel. It is just a tent that we live in while we are passing through this earth. We’re not citizens of this earth. The Bible says that if you’re a Christian, you’re a citizen of heaven. So your body is what God has given you to live in while you’re here, but it’s not going with you to heaven and so it’s not something that you need to spend a hundred percent of your mental energy and effort worrying over; but it is something that you need to steward well. As believers, we are called to be set apart from the world (Romans 12). We don’t want to copy the world and imitate how lost people view self-care. We want to look at the example of Christ and what we find in Scripture about how to take care of our mind, body, and soul. And when we look to God’s Word, one of the things we learn is found in 1 Corinthians 9:25-27, where it talks about having self-control in our body, disciplining our body, and caring for ourselves in a way that exhibits self-control.

“All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”

You can be disciplined in many ways by being mindful of what you watch, what you listen to, and where you go. Sometimes soul care and self-care in the biblical manner is even telling yourself, “No.” Your flesh wants what feels good and sounds good right now, but that’s not always what’s best for the care of your soul. The problem is when we focus on physical care without addressing the heart’s sin problem. So when you are engaging in a “self-care” activity, consider asking yourself: “Is it contributing to the health of my spiritual life and my relationship with God?” This doesn’t mean that every activity you do in the name of “self-care” is sinful. Quite the opposite. Taking a walk, taking a bubble bath, getting a massage, reading a book, gardening, crafting, or any other activity you do to help care for your mind, body, and soul can be a way for you to draw closer to the Lord. When you take a vacation, spend time reading God’s Word at the beach while you lay by the water. Spend time in prayer as you are hiking in the mountains, gazing on God’s beautiful creation. Thank the Lord for all He has made and done in the world.

There are several Bible verses that relate to what we like to call Biblical self-care or soul care:

• Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.” Part of biblical self-care is guarding your heart. We can do this by taking precaution with what we listen to, what we watch, where we go, and even who we hang out with. We need to make sure the activities we engage in are feeding our soul and that they are things that glorify God.

• Luke 10:27, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Did you know that “self-care” involves other people? When you’re taking care of your mind, body, and soul, you’re nourishing your spirit in a biblical way. And you are positioning yourself to be a blessing to other people. God can use you as a servant to help the people that He brings into your life. What does that look like? If you’re feeling depressed or lonely, get out and serve other people. Do something for someone else, and you will often find it lifts your mood. It makes your heart happy and glad because you’re being used by the Lord to do good things, you’re helping other people, and being useful and productive. By getting outside of yourself and investing in something away from yourself, you are actually taking care of yourself. It’s not good for us mentally to be obsessing over every part of us. Over and over the Bible tells us not to worry about even the simple things like what we will eat or drink or our clothes. That’s where many of us go south in our thinking. We worry so much inwardly, and we’re not focused enough outwardly – and so we struggle to function in the most basic ways.

• 1 Timothy 4:8, “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” Taking care of our physical bodies is useful, but it is not the end-all. The physical care needs to be coupled with the spiritual care as well. Physical discipline with what we eat and the exercise we do is beneficial, but we should not neglect the spiritual discipline like exercising self-control.

• Matthew 11:28, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” This is a great example of combining soul care and physical self-care. Go to Christ; He is the One who gives you rest – mentally, physically, and spiritually!

Biblical self-care should not be limited to something you do in your own strength. If you look at those in the entertainment industry, they have an abundance of material resources and a host of “personnel” dedicated to the care of their “self”. However, they make up a large portion of people who are the most depressed, lonely, and miserable lives. That’s why ultimately, self-care boils down to the heart. How is your heart with the Lord? How are you doing spiritually? What is your motive for the things you buy and do in the name of happiness or self-care? Can we be honest? No amount of money that you spend, no amount of time and effort that you put into yourself can fill the void in your heart and life that only Christ can fill. He’s the only One who can care for you in every single way that you need.

Does the Bible ever talk about people like that? People that are down, depressed, lonely, even suicidal? Yes. Even people who are saved. The one that immediately comes to mind is Elijah. If you have ever wondered if anybody ever went through some hard things and desperately needed biblical self-care, soul care, look at the example of Elijah. We find the account in 1 Kings 19 where Elijah is running away into the wilderness. He had been serving the Lord in a really hard season. He felt scared, alone, and worn out – mentally, physically, and spiritually. He sits down under a tree, and he thinks about how he would be better off if he were dead. He’s so exhausted, he falls asleep. What does God do? Does He rebuke Elijah? Does He scold him? Does He tell Elijah to quit?

1 Kings 19:5-8, “Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God.”

Isn’t it amazing! Elijah is in a position where he can’t even take care of himself. He’s given up hope and feels like his life is over. He’s so wore out and exhausted that he falls asleep, and this is what he wakes up to! The angel instructs Elijah to take a nap, eat a bite, and hydrate himself. There’s no condemnation. Instead, we see grace, mercy, patience, long suffering, love, and kindness that has been extended to him in that moment. You know why? Because God knows our limitations. He knows what we can handle and what we can’t handle. So often, we don’t know how to do “self-care” the way we need it. And that’s ok because God is the One who takes care of us. He put Elijah in a place where he could be cared for, provided for, receive some rest, and get some nourishment. And what do we find? We see that it was after receiving God’s care, then Elijah was able to get up from that place and go right back out serving the Lord.

That’s a big difference between soul care and self-care in the worldly sense because worldly self-care would tell you to just quit. Give up. You may feel better because you’re not hurting anymore or because the source of stress has gone away, but you don’t have very much motivation usually to get back out and keep doing the things that you were doing. But when you receive a renewed spirit and energy from the Lord, it allows you to keep going. He is the One who gives you the motivation and the ability, the supernatural strength, to keep going and to keep working for Him. And that’s something we don’t get through worldly materialistic sources of rest. Remember, we’re not just a body and we’re not just a mind. Sometimes the world only isolates those aspects of humanity, and we see that when they coin the term “mental health.” They isolate the mind and make it only a physical issue. So, go to the spa, stay in bed, take a walk, etc. But they never address one’s soul.

God put us on this earth together; we live in community. He gave us relationships; He gave us friendship circles. And so, part of taking care of your mind, body, and soul is not to isolate yourself. And although Jesus did slip away from the crowd, and get alone to pray to God His Father, and He took a nap on the boat with the disciples in the storm, He didn’t cut off all of the people in His life. He wasn’t completely isolated from all of the people that could pour into Him and help Him in His ministry on earth. We see Mary washing His feet, we see Him asking His disciples to pray with Him in the garden, we see Him doing ministry with His disciples, and He ate with others and celebrated a wedding, and grieved with close friends over the death of family members. He shows us that we shouldn’t cut off all other members of the church when we are tired, anguished, or trying to serve God. Part of biblical self-care or soul care is being a good steward of your mind, body, and soul, and sometimes that extends outward in service to others – taking care of their mind, body, and soul. Biblical self-care affects us, but it also affects how we interact with and help each other.

Philippians 2:3-4, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

What are some of the things that we can do to take care of ourselves? What are some things that we can do for Biblical self-care, soul care?

• Wake up a little earlier than you usually do, so you can enjoy quiet time in your home before your husband or kids or roommate wakes up.

• Spend your lunch break reading your Bible or listening to the audio version of the Bible.

• Take a walk outside and get some natural Vitamin D. Turn that time into a prayer walk. If you walk around your neighborhood, spend that time praying for each neighbor as you pass their home. If you walk at a local park, pray for the people and families who are playing at the park. If you walk indoors or at a fitness center, pray for your own needs and concerns. Turn your walk into a time of gratitude toward the Lord, thanking Him for all the things He has done for you that day, week, or year.

• As you sit in the car pick up line at your child’s school, pray for their teachers and students in their class. Pray for the school and the families that are part of that school.

• As you fold the laundry and put it away, listen to a sermon online.

• As you do the dishes, play some worship music and sing along.

• Visit an elderly relative or a shut-in from your church and let them share with you about their life.

• Text a friend, meet them for coffee or lunch, and ask them to pray for you as you pray for them.

You know, we can do all “the things” in the world to help in our self care, but if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ, then you are missing the most important thing. The number one need that your soul has is to be in a right relationship with God and the way that you do that is by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. He came to earth and lived a perfect life and died a death that we deserved. Because we’re sinners, we deserve death – yet Christ took it on for us so that we could have that right relationship with Him. Romans 5:8 says, “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus broke the barrier between us and God that our sin had created and so now there’s a way for us to be made right with God and spend eternity in heaven with Him and all of it comes through placing your faith in Jesus. The Bible says in Romans. 10:9-10 that, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved.”