Thread: I wanted to get some thoughts out on a change of philosophy I've had about self-care. A few years ago, I was one of those people who rolled my eyes a bit when I heard the term. Christians should be God-centered and others-centered, not self-centered, right? Yes, but ...

... two things have made me re-assess my thoughts on this topic. The first is personal: becoming a mom and being forced to actually make the decision to choose to take care of myself, in the midst of always being surrounded by little people's needs.

The second is philosophical, because I've been doing a lot of reading, writing and thinking about the topic of creatureliness.

The Creator/creature distinction is the first thing that sets God apart from us. God is totally self-sufficient. He depends upon no one. All things depend upon Him. He has no needs. But we are dependent *by our very nature*.

Whether we admit it or not, we are dependent all the time: we need air to breathe, food to eat, water to drink, rest, etc. God does not need us to take care of Him, but we do need Him to take care of us. And He has provided ordinary means to do this.

I think that self-care, if done reverently, can be an acknowledgment of our creaturely dependence. It is an acknowledgment of the fact that we are not self-sufficient, that we need to partake of the ordinary refreshments that God provides for us.

Nor does it preclude self-sacrifice. Jesus certainly gave all on the cross, and yet we see Him refreshing Himself in His day-to-day life by resting, depending on His fellow humans for bread and water, and most importantly, taking time to be with the Father.

Jesus gave His body to be broken for us when the time was right, but up until then He tended to both His body and His spirit's needs. He preserved Himself from danger. He separated Himself from the crowds when His resources were spent.

If we say, "Oh, I don't need to do any of that," it's a little pompous, you know? It's like saying that we, like God, are self-sufficient and need nothing from no one. That we are, in and of ourselves, like a fountain that can just keep giving and giving without receiving.

Can we sin by caring for ourselves to the exclusion of caring for others? Certainly. But I think we are also in danger of making ourselves into little gods by refusing to acknowledge our own needs, and by so doing refusing to acknowledge our own dependence.