What Does the Bible Say About Self-Care?

A Biblical Look of Self-Care From A Christian’s Viewpoint

Christian self-care can be tricky since it’s not a phrase we find in the Scriptures. Let’s dive in to uncover what the Bible says about self-care and explore what that means for us living in our world today.

It wasn’t until more recently that I realized that self-care was different than taking care of yourself. And now, I’m asking the Lord to help me understand how to view self-care as a Christian. It can be a challenging practice to tackle if you’re feeling burned out from your everyday demands of life. You know you need to take better care of yourself, but you want to remain faithful to God, which commands us to deny ourselves as Christians. 

On the one hand, there is a lot of secular self-help information. Self-care is a sensationalized trend in today’s culture. It’s on every social media post that features indulging behavior of yoga, manicures, and fancy coffees featuring the hashtag #selflove or #selfcare.

While sometimes on the opposite side of the spectrum, Christians can go to the extreme to run themselves down to the ground for other people. Occasionally, we are so frightened of being “selfish” that we disregard ourselves entirely. We consider self-care associated with narcissism and wear exhaustion like a badge of honor, or in my case, a shiny gold star.

What does the Bible say about self-care? Are there any Bible verses to help us practice Christian self-care appropriately?

Neither extreme is healthy. After a few years of praying, and grappling with this concept, here is some wisdom I’ve discovered about Christian self-care.

What Does the Bible Say About Self-Care?

You’ll be disappointed if you search for Bible verses about self-care because that phrase comes up precisely zero times. That’s right! There aren’t any scriptures on “self-care” that you can conveniently quote or hashtag on social media.

But that doesn’t mean God left this topic out. You can still find the truth and wisdom we can apply to this topic in the Bible.

Good Bible study goes beyond finding singular Bible verses about self-care to digging deeper into more significant themes and principles in every culture, place, and time.

What exactly does the Bible teach about self-care? Here’s what we found. There is an abundance of Scripture in the Bible on concepts like being still, resting, stewardship, and God’s perfect love for us that gives us the practical wisdom we need.

Self-Care from a Christian Perspective

While what we find in the Bible about self-care isn’t explicitly outlined, we can still answer the question “What does the Bible say about self-care” by examining three closely associated concepts: Rest, Stewardship, and God’s love for us. Let’s look at each of these individually.

God Created Us to Need Rest

When exploring what the Bible says about self-care, It’s fundamental to view the Scripture through the lens of rest because this concept is prevalent throughout the Bible.

From the account of The Creation in Genesis through the Old and New Testaments, resting is an essential part of the rhythm of life. God concludes his creative masterpiece with an entire day devoted to rest and invites his image-bearers to do the same.

God hand-crafted humans and all of His creations to require rest. Rest includes eating, sleeping, celebrating, and ultimately feeling refreshed.

It’s a practice structured into the law for God’s chosen people in the Old Covenant and a posture we carry in life.

A person at rest is a person who carries themselves differently. They walk obediently and faithfully with the Lord, trusting Him entirely. We choose to rest every week, keeping the Sabbath Holy. Still, we can also choose to intentionally participate in additional moments of rest daily, monthly, annually, or whenever He calls us to be still.

Even though we can’t readily find the word self-care scripted between the Bible’s pages, it’s not challenging to see how you can understand it through this lens of rest.

Christian Self-Care is a Form of Stewardship

Closely related to rest is stewardship.

Again, starting in Genesis, we see God’s plan for humanity is to rule over all creation and care for it.

That includes care for our bodies.

We Can Rest in God’s Love for Us

Ultimately, you can notice what the Bible communicates about self-care when considering God’s love for all of us.

While I agree as we follow in Christ’s footsteps that there is a call for self-sacrifice, that doesn’t reject the call to care for our hand-crafted, hand formed, and dearly loved bodies, souls, and minds of ourselves and others around us.

Let’s explore Scriptures on self-care that illustrate these points further.

Scriptures on Self-Care

Understanding that concepts like stewardship, rest, and God’s love weaved throughout Scripture, a few self-care Bible verses can help as you seek answers to the question, “What does the Bible say about self-care?”

Genesis 2:2–3

2 By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing, so on the seventh day, he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Exodus 20:8–11

8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ten, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

One of the Ten Commandments given at Sinai under the Old Covenant was to keep the Sabbath Holy. Observation and study show how connected self-care is to what God set in motion in Genesis. 

Take note, and reread it if you have to, but you’ll notice that this commandment wasn’t just about individuals stopping work. The command extends to every person and animal. This commandment links to stewardship. Animals all over the globe rest for days, months, and seasons or as needed. They obey their Creator.

The same principles can apply to our rest observation under the New Covenant.

When we practice self-care, it’s essential to see that what we do isn’t solely for our benefit, but it should also serve as a blessing to others and the creation itself.

Mark 12:30-31

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

You may have heard these verses a million times, but have you noticed these two key words: As yourself.

These tender scriptures about self-care don’t just tell us to love others. They ask us to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

This passage means you have permission to love yourself as God loves you.

It doesn’t say love your neighbor and neglect and belittle yourself. Too often, Christians mistakenly believe that self-degradation is interchangeable with “showing humility.” But Jesus wants you to love, value, and cherish yourself and your body as his beloved child and a part of creation.

Ephesians 5:29

 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 

God built the standards of self-care into us. We all have a natural longing to “nourish and cherish” ourselves.

God created us this way because He knows that when we are at our best, we become equipped to serve in the Kingdom, giving our best.

When you deplete your energy from lack of sleep and nourishment, you can’t serve others well when lying in bed, sick, or exhausted. You can’t pray or study effectively when your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health suffers.

Humans need downtime, replenishment, food, rest, and more to function, thrive, and love God and others well.

Matthew 11:28

28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

These are Jesus’ renowned words. It’s our very own personal invitation to rest. This loving passage about taking care of yourself is a reminder that proper rest comes through knowing Christ and walking with him. All other self-care practices build from there.

There are still so many other relevant stories and scriptures when studying what the Bible says about self-care, and I encourage you to begin your journey by searching beyond the ones we share today. This article is just a starting point.

How to Practice Self-Care As A Christian

Now that we have a better understanding of what the Bible says about self-care let’s take a look at some real-life scenarios and questions, like:

• Is it okay to be on my phone with my kids around?
• Do I have to go to church on Sunday despite feeling exhausted and unable to move?
• Whose needs come first: Mine, my husband’s, or my kids?
• Is it okay to set actual boundaries when someone asks for my help? 
• Do I have to get up early to read my Bible?
• Can I spend money on something silly or self-indulgent and not feel guilty?

These are deeply personal questions; you can explore them using some of the discussed principles.

Remember Philippians 2:4: "Let each of you look not only to his interests but also to the interests of others."

But also acknowledge that as you apply your self-care plan, you will have more energy to spend on others because your cup is full!

While it may not be practical or even possible for you to set aside whole days out of your week to concentrate on only yourself, you can implement plenty of small actions in the Bible regarding self-care.

Remember, you can only keep pouring out all your love, energy, and resources by ensuring you take the time to refill them!

For you, this may mean:

• Ensure you get a sufficient amount of sleep nightly. If this feels more like a chore, then remember the reward. You’ll be more productive (not to mention happier) the next day!
• Eat a balanced diet of protein, fiber, complex carbs, and healthy fats at each meal. Trend diets aren’t sustainable long-term, so focus on eating real food in a balanced way.
• Move your body in some way daily. Try a daily dance party, walking a few blocks, or taking the stairs. Whatever you choose to do, it all counts.
• Make daily alone time non-negotiable. Physically block out a period of uninterrupted time to recharge. Create white space in your calendar to participate in the things that bring you joy. This time is a guilt-free zone. This time is crucial for your mental health.
• Regular checkups with your doctor, even if you think you “can’t afford it.” Ignoring a health issue can allow it to get worse easily and quickly. Don’t let your health suffer. Investing in your health is investing in yourself, energy, future, family, and service to God!
• Spend time in daily prayer, Bible study, and other spiritual disciplines.
• Make time to fellowship with Christian friends who encourage you.

While searching for Bible verses about self-care or related concepts can be helpful, we aren’t limited to only the Bible. God also gave us wisdom. Sometimes the best way to practice Christian self-care is to do what we know is good for us – physically, mentally, spiritually, or socially. 

How Not To Practice Self-Care As A Christian

When studying what the Bible says about self-care and how to enforce it, it’s important to remember that God calls us to be set apart from others in every way, including how we practice self-care. When people don’t have a relationship with Christ, it’s easier to turn to unhealthy practices when they desperately need a break. These methods are critical to recognize because they can be selfish and sinful:

• Escape: Avoiding or running from stressors rather than confronting them. Getting away is okay, but if your only objective is to escape rather than intentionally rejuvenate yourself, you will only want more escape. And that can lead to isolation and other harmful habits.
• Self-medicating: Finding healing from sources that aren’t meant and will never fill you up. Only God can make you whole and fill you. This approach carries the definition of escape to the next level: trying to find joy in your weakness through overusing your phone, shopping, food, or other substances.
• Addiction: What happens when you get temporary highs from escaping and self-medicating? You keep coming back for more, and more, and even more. And you keep coming out empty—every single time. 

We’re all susceptible to these things.

Personally, when I’m not mindful, I drift into selfish ambition, gluttony, and idolatry. We should be familiar with our weaknesses because we all have them. When researching self-care practices and exploring what the Bible says about self-care, it’s vital to keep your weaknesses in mind so we are careful not to fall into an unhealthy pattern that leads us away from Christ.

Besides asking yourself, “What does the Bible say about self-care?” you may find it helpful to ask the advice of your family, friends, and those who know you well. The people who can help you decide when you’re practicing healthy Christian self-care or when you’re sliding into idleness, apathy, or even idolatry. These are all risks of Christian Self-care when we get off balance and stop spending time with the Lord.

Further Exploration of What the Bible Says About Self-Care and More

Now that we have scratched the surface of self-care in Christianity and explored all the angles as best we could, it’s time to put it into practice. If you’re ready for change, you have the basics to begin. If you’re earnest about applying the Scriptures to self-care, I pray you study the Bible and develop a self-care plan that works for you.

With His & Joy,
Leticia Barker