There are so many ways that you need to care in a Christian life. It could mean taking care of what God has given you, caring for others, and caring for people in or out of the Church. And everyone gives different emphasis to what version of care matters the most. Then there is all the self-care that is sweeping our culture by storm. I think there is value in talking about how to care for others without burning yourself out.
Why care for anyone or anything
The first place to start when discussing care is why we should care. Like many things we do as Christians, we do it because God did it for us first (1 John 4:19.) We are an extension or mirror to others of how God feels about them. So we care because God cares for us. Now there have been times when I felt like maybe God doesn’t care for me as much as he cares for others, so perhaps you’re thinking the same thing. Either you feel like God’s forgotten about you, or he gives other people a better life, or you just feel like you’re struggling day-to-day in general.
The first time I felt like this was at a church; that was one of the worst fits I’ve ever had. It’s not necessarily the Church was doing anything wrong; it was just that we didn’t fit. Because of that, I felt utterly alone, to the point I wondered if I messed up and wasn’t supposed to go into ministry at all. It was a solid year of wondering why I was in this position. And then, after that year, I told God that if I didn’t have a new ministry job in three months, I was done in ministry and would figure something else out. I had a new ministry job in month three, and I’m entering my 15th year of full-time ministry.
What I know now is that year was necessary for me to trust in God through the next round of terrible things and the next and the next. Because unfortunately, there will always be something bad happening around you or in your life that will prompt you to ask, “Do I trust God to take care of me?” And every time you go through something tough and say, “God took care of me,” the next time, it gets a little easier to believe it will be true in the future, just like it was in the past.
How Does Care Work
Like all of our buckets, care is supposed to be like a waterfall. Once we trust God will care for us, we overflow to care for others because we know we can’t out-give God. And through this continuous chain of caring waterfalls, God uses us to answer others’ prayers. Because of this, there’s a saying, “Caring is sharing,” and while they are tied closely together, we will focus more on caring for people and things in this post.
Jesus talks about caring for things in a story referred to as the Parable of the Talents. It’s in Matthew 25:14-30. A Man gives three of his workers different amounts of money. One gets one silver piece, the second gets two silver pieces, and the third gets five silver pieces. While he’s gone, the second and third workers invest the money and double the investments. However, the first one was scared to loose the money and buried it instead. When the man returns, he calls the worker lazy for not even investing it in the bank and not doing the bare minimum. This is the expectation God has for each of us. God has given us everything we have, and he wants us to take care of all of it and care, or steward, it well.
Often when we talk about stewardship, everyone’s mind goes to money. Still, stewardship is really about caring for something that usually doesn’t belong to you. Since God gives us everything, even the breath in our lungs, we are called to care for these things well.
That means caring for our body, mind, and strength so we can be fully capable of doing whatever work God has prepared for us (Eph 2:10). It means making wise choices with our money, which is also connected with a simple and content life. It means prioritizing how we spend our time so that we spend more time on the things that matter rather than distractions.
Just like in the parable of the talent, when we show we trust and care a little bit, God will show up in big ways and eventually up the amount he gives you to trust and care for. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying, though. I am not saying God will give me more money if I’m faithful. What I am saying is God will bless me and show that I am cared for when I care for all his things well. God’s blessing doesn’t necessarily come in large amounts of money, but it does cover what we need for the moment.
Caring Church
Now if you look at the New Testament Church, one of the reasons they grew so quickly is because they cared for each other well. It says in Acts 4:34-35 no one had any needs. And then, as they were able, they cared for the community around them. That is what was so attractive about the Church. They weren’t after making themselves better; they were out to make others better and by extension, their community better.
And even today, that’s how churches are meant to grow. Not because they have great motivational speakers that make people feel good, but because they take care of each other and then, by extension, the community around them.
Commonly a question church leaders ask is “If your church closed its doors today, would anyone notice?” For some churches, the answer would be only the people inside. For some people, not even the people on the roster would notice or care all that much. For some Churches, if they left, it would be a community killer. It’s all centered around how well you care for others.
What to Care for
First, we need to take care of ourselves. And I don’t mean in the way our culture usually talks about Self-love and Self-Care. Modern culture talks about caring for ourselves to make ourselves happy. When you follow Jesus, you need to care for yourself as a form of self-discipline. This means making sure your body can keep up with what you need to do, that your mind is clear and focused, and that your heart is compassionate yet strong. You have to take care of yourself like a soldier prepares for war because we are, after all, going into a spiritual battle.
Once we have prepared ourselves, it’s time to care for others, and it’s not easy. Just because God calls us to care for people doesn’t mean it will be easy to care for them. It’s through caring for others that we realize not only how blessed we are, regardless of our circumstances, but also it creates a cascading loop that eventually circles back to you in one way or another. This is the funny way that true sacrificial love works.
Then we need to take care of what God has given us. This might mean being intentional with how we spend our money so that there is an extra to bless people. That might mean going through your clothes to find what you don’t use to give away, but it also might mean stopping yourself from buying something you don’t need. It might mean having a home that’s always ready to welcome guests to your table, it might mean a multitude of ways for your to care for the time, talents, and treasures God has given you, but it’s approaching every item, moment, and person with a mentality of what does God want me to do with this interaction?
Where to start
It might seem a little overwhelming to completely reframe how you view your resources to being God’s resources that you care for, so below is a list of areas to start looking and think of how you are being called to care and use the things in a way that would please God. As you process these different areas, pick one area and one thing to do or a habit to start that will make your interaction in that space more Jesus-centered.
- Your Body
- Your Mind
- Your Soul
- Your house
- Your Clothes
- Your Money
- Your Family
- Your Friends
- Your Church
- Your Neighbors
- Your co-workers
Stay Weird,
