The Value of Self

There are only two weeks left on our Lenten journey….Congratulations!  Next week we will have a guest writer, Larissa Carter, Chaplain of the Connectional Young Adult Ministry in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.   Enjoy your weekend!

What if there was a way to measure the amount people invested in themselves?  Imagine there was literally a budget sheet, with a grid like one used for household expenses except the categories would say “Exercise”, “Meditation”, “Grooming”, “Spiritual Life” and “Relaxation”. Maybe the relaxation category has subcategories.  But how much time is each one of these areas adding up to in the life?  Sadly for most, the results are that there isn’t anywhere near enough time budgeted and allotted for self-growth.  How hard could it be to really invest in oneself?

Think about: we oversleep one morning, we rush the kids to the school, we go to work, we eat lunch at our desks, we run a few errands after work, we pick up kids, we eat dinner. By the time evening comes, we’re busy preparing for the next day.  It is easy then to see how, while withdrawing energy from ourselves for others, we miss even adding a small deposit into ourselves.  And why is that?  Truth of the matter is that we perhaps do not value our own selves enough. 

Lent is very much about placing more value on the self.  Jesus understood the importance of taking a moment to prioritize the body, as there are many instances where he sleeps or carves time for renewal (in the boat, sitting at a friend’s table, at a well).  We, as ministers, are not fulfilling our end of the bargain of being good spiritual followers if we do not take this time to rest.  Psalm 23: 2-3a reads, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.” Odd as it sounds, we are being directly disobedient if we do not take time to be renewed. 

Rest and renewal are a form of worship; it is in dreams and moments of peace that we receive our mission and details of our calling.  Just as we find time on the Sabbath to fellowship with others in the Word, we have to observe time to develop our spiritual relationship.  Perhaps it is as small as going to bed earlier to avoid oversleeping, or eating lunch outside, with the sun shining down on you.  Whatever it is, developing it during the time where we are actively dedicating more time to ourselves will make it easier to transition once Lent is over.

 

Consider doing a little time management; write out everything you do and strategically place the information and times all together.  Consider somehow having 1 hour allotted each day for self (which can be split up however you want).