By Samantha Taylor, Health and Fitness Expert
When Jesus said in Mark 12:31,”You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is none 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 to truly care for others, we need to have 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, yet Jesus commanded us to do it. It wasn’t just a suggestion, it was 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. Taking care of your body is 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 shows care and concern for others when we take care of our health. When you think about it, it’s more selfish not to 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 and sometimes our family can suffer 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 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 gift 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 have developed is an online program called “Faith Driven 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 see more details, go here to set up a free Transformation Call with me at www.SamanthaTaylor.com
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!