12 Sep It’s OK to be selfish- Beje Jones

If you’re any sort of a kind and loving human being, you would most likely DISagree, am I right?

Wrong! It IS ok to be selfish!!

Here’s the thing… If you don’t take care of YOU first, then how will you be able to be all God has called you to be? You won’t. This is the kind of selfishness I’m talking about. Wink, wink. 😉

In an airplane, the attendant instructs us to put our oxygen mask on FIRST before we help others, right? If passengers disregard this instruction, they will quickly become weak, disoriented and unable to help themselves or anyone else.

I’m going to be super honest with you, if you don’t take care of yourself first, YOU are the selfish one! 

Still love me?? I speak the truth with love and concern for you. Giving you a big virtual hug right now, s-q-u-e-e-z-e!! You are so valuable lovely one, you MUST take care of YOU so that the world around you can be blessed with all that God has equipped you to be. He has created you to be healthy in every way so that you bring Him glory with your life. 

THINK through this with me…

Hopefully you have people in your life who are special to you. If you don’t take purposeful steps to take care of yourself, how can you honestly say that you will be in good enough health and with a clear mind to enjoy those relationships?

You have amazing gifts and talents and a personality that no one else has. The world awaits you.  If you don’t take care of yourself, how will you be able to touch the lives of others in a way that only you can?

If you don’t take care of yourself, someone will most likely have to take care of you, right?  How much more can be done for the Kingdom of God if we weren’t so busy taking care of those who aren’t taking care of themselves. I am especially talking to the body of Christ here. The Bible says we are to honor God in our body by taking care of where the Holy Spirit resides which is in us. This brings honor to God.

There’s no shame or guilt if you haven’t been doing this or if you are struggling in your health in some way, ok? Condemnation is not from God. Take an honest look at your lifestyle choices. If you feel “convicted” that you haven’t lived in a way that is nourishing you, then repent. To repent means, tell God you are truly sorry for not taking care of the body and the mind He has given you, receive His forgiveness and then begin taking steps in a healthier direction. That’s it. It’s never too late. You were made for so much more than the way you are living right now.

I have been there myself. For most of my life, I did what I wanted to do (or not do) and it ended up biting me in the “rear” (is this where the term “everything in my life has gone arrears” came from ;)? and it put a burden on those around me, cost extra finances, not to mention I couldn’t do what I should have been doing because I failed at taking care of myself.

This is how my life looked before I decided to be “selfish”:

• I wouldn’t exercise (if I didn’t want to because it was more enjoyable to sit and watch hours of mindless TV).
• I would eat the Twinkies, M & M’s, Snickers bars and drink the sodas (rather than feeding myself with nourishing foods and drinking water).
• I would do what everyone else was doing (because it felt good to my flesh- “If it feels good, do it!”).
• I would let my thoughts run amok (instead of taking them captive and making them conform to what God has to say). I still have to work on this but thank God I continue to do better.

Oh my! Do you see where living THAT kind of life is truly the selfish thing to do?? I’m not perfect by ANY means. I keep working to do what is right but since I have changed some of those things in my life I have more of my life back and now, I can give more to others by doing what God has called me to do. You can too!

Less than a decade ago, I was spiraling downward in my health (body & mind). It wasn’t pretty. If I had not made the choice to change my own lifestyle, I would have been worse off than I already was. I’m forever grateful that God showed me there was a better way to have that abundant life He provided.

God gives us a choice to choose between life and death, blessing and curses.  I choose life and blessing, will you?

“You are not your own, you have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus so now go and glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Beje Jones