By Samantha Taylor, Samantha Taylor Fitness
When Jesus said in Mark 12:31, ”You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” What does that mean and why did He say that? I think one reason He said it is because He knew that in order to truly care for others, we need to have a love and care for ourselves. Because how are you going to really be able to do that at the fullest capacity for others if you don’t know how to love yourself?
Some believers have a hard time with this because they think that taking care of themselves and their life is selfish, but Jesus commanded us to do it. It wasn’t just a suggestion, it was actually a commandment and He said, it’s greater than any other commandment (along with the other commandment He referred to before that one, which was to love God with all your soul, mind, and strength).
So taking care of your health, your fitness, and your mental wellness is not selfish… when it’s in balance and not an obsession. It’s actually honoring God and following what God says. He even says that “If you love Me, you’ll keep My commandments.” John 14:13-15. When we take care of our health, this honors and respects the body that God gave us as a gift, that He gave us to take care of as His temple.
And it’s actually showing care and concern for others when we take care of our health. When you think about it, it’s actually more selfish to not take care of our health because if we are not healthy, we aren’t at our best for our family or even our career. It’s the things we do have control over that I am referring to, for I understand not all things with our health are under our control.
When we aren’t healthy, we are tired, not as happy, and tend to have more medical issues which can cause more stress and loss of quality of life. Life is just more difficult for us and sometimes our family too. I believe that God specifically put that commandment in the Bible so that we would realize the importance of taking care of ourselves in this life as well as loving our neighbors.
It’s not selfish. It’s not ungodly. I think that Jesus said that commandment to remind us because He was very adamant about our body being His temple. If you would like to see a message that I gave at a church on that subject, go to www.samanthataylor.com/temple
It’s a good idea to take an inventory on how well we are doing with the gifts that God has given us. Since you are the CEO of your body, how are you doing taking care of what God gave you? This is not about condemnation or guilt; it’s about taking an honest look at our lives and seeing where we need to improve. The consequences are so negatively impactful when we don’t take care of our body but the beautiful part as a believer is that you have access to the power of God that can help you succeed in this area.
The new program I am working on is a program called “Faith-Filled Weight Loss”. It’s all about how to activate your spirit, mind, and body in your weight loss experience so that you can have victory and enjoy the process. And as you lose the weight, you grow stronger in your faith. If you’d like to be one of the five people that I’m working with directly online for the new year, go here to set up a free Transformation Call with me at www.samanthataylor.com/nextstep
So for Valentine’s Day, think about the people you care about and love but don’t forget about you too. You are the only person you’re going to be with until the day you die, so taking care of you is very important, Jesus even said so himself. God put you here with a purpose and a destiny and taking care of your body, helps you be stronger, healthier and happier to fulfill that plan. That not only affects your life but the people around you too. Happy Valentine’s Day!
To read more Samantha Taylor Fitness articles, click here.