Self-care on Your Sainthood Journey

Denise Jelinek explains why God calls us to a particular kind of self-care: caring for and loving the bodies that are His gifts to us.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? ... Therefore, glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

In the past, when I heard that Scripture verse, I would think, “That makes sense,” or “Yeah, I need to eat right and exercise,” but recently God shed some new light on these familiar words.

And I’d like to share that with you.

Taking care of your physical body is a way to worship the Lord. God not only wants, but also needs us to prioritize our physical health in order to fully serve Him and those around us and is essential on our sainthood journey.

Through prayer and reading this Scripture, I’ve come to understand that:

My body was given to me by God to achieve His intended purposes.
My job is to glorify God with this body by caring for it and using it to bring Him into the world. I am the steward of this body He has given me.

The Misunderstanding of Self-Care

In our culture, caring for the physical body is often categorized under the term “self care.” Many women frequently express feeling guilty or “selfish” for allotting time and attention to caring for themselves.

I would like to make a case that it is indeed a God-given directive to care for our bodies and thus an act of obedience and love when done in moderation and with virtue.

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Is Self-Care Ever Selfish?

Caring for the physical body is only selfish if you believe your body’s primary purpose is for your own benefit and pleasure.

It is not.

Yes, without our bodies, we could not enjoy the physical pleasures of life:

Feeling good after exercise
Enjoying the taste of food
Going where we want to go
Doing what we want to do
Showing our families love and experiencing their love (through hugs or holding hands, for example)
And on and on and on.

However, in addition to all of that human stuff, your body was given to you as the instrument needed to partner with the Lord in so many ways! We can literally co-create His Kingdom with him: that is how we glorify Him daily with our bodies.

What does this look like?

Each day, we get the opportunity to say “yes” to Him and do what He needs us to do. What are thosee things?

First, He asks us to care for the physical needs of having a human body (such as rest, nutrition, and hydration) and second to do all the other things He is calling us to do. Why do I believe Jesus is instructing us to tend to our own physical needs first? Because …

He gave each of us one body—only one. We don’t get another one. We all know how cumbersome an unhealthy body is. Life is physically harder and therefore it’s harder to serve the Lord.
It’s our gift to God. Our bodies were given to us as a gift from God and we get to turn around and give Him the gift of a healthy mind and body. It’s our way of sending a “thank you” note to God for this gift.
A healthy mind and body can accomplish much more for God and is a lot more pleasant and fun for our families! Imagine if Mother Teresa drank excess alcohol daily, barely slept, and lived off Cheetos. Would she have been able to serve the people of Calcutta like she did for decades?

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Your Body is Your Body for a Reason

There are some people who the Lord chooses to unite to Himself on the cross in a special way through physical or mental suffering. I’d like you to know that even if you can no longer walk or if you have a debilitating injury or if you suffer from a psychological disorder, your body is always good and it can still do the work God is calling you to! It may look different than others, but He made our bodies the way they are for a reason. The Lord will never ask you to work that you can’t carry out.

Click to tweet:
It is a God-given directive to care for our bodies and thus an act of obedience and love when done in moderation and with virtue. #CatholicMom

Take to heart these insights the Lord revealed to me in prayer:

He loves you and does not call you to neglect caring for your body for fear of being selfish.
Caring for the gift of our physical bodies, just like every other gift given to us by the Lord (like money, our marriage, our home, etc.) does indeed honor and glorify Him.

May God bless you in your pursuit to care for the precious gift of your physical body and health.

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