Understanding Self-Care Through the Lens of Will
Summary
In our discussion today, we delved into the profound insights of Dallas Willard's "Renovation of the Heart," particularly focusing on the essential elements that constitute a person. At the core of our being lies the will, which is synonymous with the heart and spirit in ancient terms. This will is our capacity to choose, create, and exercise freedom, forming our personal kingdom. Surrounding this core are the mind, body, social dimension, and soul, each playing a crucial role in our holistic existence. The mind encompasses both rational thoughts and emotions, while the body is the physical manifestation where our will initially exerts control. Our social dimension is defined by our relationships, and the soul integrates all these parts into a unified life, connecting us to the larger environment, including God.
Dallas Willard emphasizes the importance of understanding these components to care for them effectively. This understanding is foundational to self-care, a concept often misunderstood in both spiritual and therapeutic contexts. While self-care is sometimes perceived as self-indulgence, true self-care involves self-denial, aligning with the teachings of Jesus. This self-denial is not about neglecting oneself but about prioritizing actions that lead to spiritual and personal growth, much like an athlete who practices discipline to achieve excellence.
In our conversation, we explored the balance between self-care and self-denial, using the metaphor of a reservoir. Just as a reservoir must be filled to generate power, we must ensure our spiritual and emotional reserves are replenished to serve others effectively. This involves understanding and managing our emotions, thoughts, and choices in a godly manner. By arranging the parts of the self with God in mind, we can achieve a harmonious balance that fuels our mission of love and service.
Key Takeaways:
- The will, or heart, is the core of our being, enabling us to choose and create. Understanding this core is essential for effective self-care, which involves nurturing our spiritual and emotional health. [01:12]
- Emotions play a significant role in our daily lives, and understanding them is crucial. By naming and expressing emotions, as seen in the Psalms, we can manage them without letting them dominate our actions. [05:11]
- The concept of a reservoir illustrates the need to maintain our spiritual and emotional reserves. Just as a reservoir powers a hydroelectric plant, our reserves enable us to serve others and fulfill our mission. [06:49]
- Self-denial, when rightly understood, is a form of self-care. It involves making choices that align with our greater purpose, much like an athlete who practices discipline to achieve their goals. [09:32]
- True self-care is not self-indulgence but involves arranging the parts of the self with God in mind. This holistic approach ensures that we are equipped to love and serve others effectively. [11:24]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:36] - Introduction to the Topic
- [01:00] - Essential Elements of a Person
- [01:12] - The Core: Will, Heart, and Spirit
- [01:24] - The Mind: Thoughts and Feelings
- [01:50] - The Body: A Miraculous Vessel
- [02:03] - Social Dimension and Relationships
- [02:17] - The Soul: Integration of Self
- [02:29] - Understanding for Care
- [03:33] - Self-Care vs. Self-Denial
- [04:20] - Soul Care in Counseling
- [05:11] - Understanding Emotions
- [06:49] - The Reservoir Metaphor
- [09:32] - Self-Denial as Self-Care
- [11:24] - Arranging the Self with God in Mind
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
1. Matthew 16:24 - "Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'"
2. Proverbs 4:23 - "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
3. Psalm 42:11 - "Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."
---
Observation Questions:
1. According to the sermon, what are the essential elements that constitute a person, and how do they interact with each other? [01:12]
2. How does the sermon describe the role of emotions in our daily lives, and what biblical example is given to illustrate this? [05:11]
3. What metaphor is used in the sermon to explain the importance of maintaining spiritual and emotional reserves, and how does it relate to self-care? [06:49]
4. How does the sermon define self-denial, and what analogy is used to explain its importance in achieving personal and spiritual goals? [09:32]
---
Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the concept of self-denial in Matthew 16:24 relate to the sermon’s discussion on self-care and spiritual growth? [03:45]
2. In what ways does Proverbs 4:23 connect with the sermon’s emphasis on understanding and caring for the heart or will? [02:29]
3. How does the sermon’s use of the reservoir metaphor help us understand the balance between self-care and serving others? [06:49]
4. How might the practice of naming and expressing emotions, as seen in the Psalms, contribute to a healthier spiritual life according to the sermon? [05:11]
---
Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your current understanding of self-care. How can you align it more closely with the concept of self-denial as described in the sermon? [09:32]
2. Consider the metaphor of the reservoir. What practical steps can you take to ensure your spiritual and emotional reserves are replenished regularly? [06:49]
3. Think about a recent situation where your emotions dominated your actions. How can you apply the practice of naming and expressing emotions to manage them better in the future? [05:11]
4. In what ways can you prioritize actions that lead to spiritual growth, similar to how an athlete practices discipline? Identify one specific area in your life where you can implement this discipline. [09:32]
5. How can you arrange the parts of your self—mind, body, social dimension, and soul—with God in mind to achieve a harmonious balance? Identify one area that needs more attention. [11:24]
6. Reflect on a relationship in your life that could benefit from a better understanding of the social dimension of self. What steps can you take to improve this relationship? [02:03]
7. How can you guard your heart more effectively in your daily life, ensuring that your actions flow from a place of spiritual health? [02:29]
Devotional
Day 1: The Will as the Core of Our Being
Understanding the will, or heart, as the core of our being is essential for effective self-care. The will is our capacity to choose, create, and exercise freedom, forming our personal kingdom. It is the center from which all our actions and decisions flow. By nurturing our spiritual and emotional health, we can align our will with God's purpose for our lives. This alignment is not about self-indulgence but about self-denial, prioritizing actions that lead to spiritual and personal growth. Just as an athlete practices discipline to achieve excellence, we must cultivate our will to reflect God's love and purpose. [01:12]
"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." (Proverbs 16:9, ESV)
Reflection: What is one decision you need to make today that requires aligning your will with God's purpose? How can you ensure that your choice reflects His love and guidance?
Day 2: Emotions as a Vital Component of Our Lives
Emotions play a significant role in our daily lives, influencing our thoughts and actions. Understanding and managing emotions is crucial for maintaining spiritual and emotional health. By naming and expressing emotions, as seen in the Psalms, we can prevent them from dominating our actions. This practice allows us to process emotions in a godly manner, ensuring they align with our greater purpose. Emotions are not to be suppressed but understood and integrated into our holistic existence, contributing to our mission of love and service. [05:11]
"Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent." (Psalm 4:4, ESV)
Reflection: Identify an emotion you have felt strongly this week. How can you express and manage this emotion in a way that aligns with your faith and values?
Day 3: The Reservoir of Spiritual and Emotional Reserves
The concept of a reservoir illustrates the need to maintain our spiritual and emotional reserves. Just as a reservoir powers a hydroelectric plant, our reserves enable us to serve others and fulfill our mission. By ensuring our spiritual and emotional reserves are replenished, we can effectively love and serve others. This involves understanding and managing our emotions, thoughts, and choices in a godly manner. By arranging the parts of the self with God in mind, we can achieve a harmonious balance that fuels our mission of love and service. [06:49]
"But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14, ESV)
Reflection: What is one practical step you can take today to replenish your spiritual and emotional reserves? How can this step help you serve others more effectively?
Day 4: Self-Denial as a Form of Self-Care
Self-denial, when rightly understood, is a form of self-care. It involves making choices that align with our greater purpose, much like an athlete who practices discipline to achieve their goals. This self-denial is not about neglecting oneself but about prioritizing actions that lead to spiritual and personal growth. By denying ourselves in this way, we can cultivate a life that reflects God's love and purpose, ensuring that we are equipped to love and serve others effectively. [09:32]
"And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" (Luke 9:23, ESV)
Reflection: What is one area of your life where you can practice self-denial today? How can this act of self-denial help you grow spiritually and personally?
Day 5: Arranging the Self with God in Mind
True self-care is not self-indulgence but involves arranging the parts of the self with God in mind. This holistic approach ensures that we are equipped to love and serve others effectively. By understanding the essential elements that constitute a person—the will, mind, body, social dimension, and soul—we can care for them in a way that aligns with God's purpose. This understanding is foundational to self-care, allowing us to live a life that reflects God's love and purpose. [11:24]
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2, ESV)
Reflection: How can you arrange the different parts of your life today to better align with God's purpose? What changes can you make to ensure that your life reflects His love and guidance?
Quotes
And he starts with at the very core of you is your will, and he says the words for heart and spirit essentially in the ancient world refer to that same function your capacity to choose, your ability to create your freedom, that's what gives you a little kingdom and then you have a mind, and that's both your thoughts the ability to reason and infer and perceive as well as your feelings. [00:01:12]
Understanding he says is the basis of care take very good care of yourself, what you would take care of you must first understand, whether it be a petunia or a nation, if you would care for your spiritual core your heart or will you must understand it that is you must understand your spirit. [00:02:29]
And then he talks about there was an old magazine called the reader's digest and they used to run articles um i am joe's liver i'm joe's foot and they would describe the properties of that particular organ or body part and how it is that you could care for it well. [00:03:01]
And the ones that i probably seem to be like working with the most when i'm talking to people in counseling are the mind thoughts and feelings and choice especially somewhat uh with body and habits and whatnot but, so i think that for example that i've used for many years that seems to be helpful to clients is the idea that we're in our minds half rational and half emotional. [00:04:25]
And if you have good rational powers and try to understand something but you still can't really get it get it about yourself or get it about somebody else it doesn't mean it's not understandable it's just not understandable in the rational part or the rational half it's more i'm always saying in the emotional part so learning about that for example. [00:04:51]
So to name them and he gets that idea rankin does from the psalms that the psalmist is always able to to talk about not suppress not repress but to name and express emotions but by the middle of the psalm generally speaking he's moving it into not enthroning plays but giving it to god. [00:05:56]
So understanding that that simple idea about ourselves emotionally and then working at our thoughts as well another idea just in listening to you read that opening about the self and self-care i've gotten to work as you know a lot over the years with burned out people burned out pastors burned out teachers burned out people uh. [00:06:17]
And one of the ways that i would tend to think about self-denial talking about that a minute ago is that that's the ability to get out of our own self and be other oriented to care about the other to love others and i don't think you can read the new testament carefully without seeing just how frequently that becomes a primary concern for jesus. [00:07:20]
And then to deal with our emotions in a godly way to to arrange our thoughts in ways that are noble and pure and um elevated so each of those i was thinking about that i had not thought about it quite like this until just now as you and i have been talking about this uh see what you think about this. [00:08:57]
Self-denial rightly understood is self-care yeah and here's here's what i was thinking if you have a football player and they're a great football player and they're devoted to trying to win um that means i have to be really careful about what they eat and often deny themselves nope i can't eat that because that will not build my body up right. [00:09:22]
And then they have to work out they have to lift weights they have to run sprints they have to do all kind of drills they may not feel like doing those they need to be willing to not do what they feel like doing in order to do that which will help them achieve what they most want to achieve. [00:09:44]
Self-care rightly understood will very often involve self-denial that is not doing what i feel like doing so that i can become the person that i want to become and it will fuel us then for being able to do the things that generate love and service to others and that sort of thing. [00:10:43]
Chatbot
-
I'm an AI bot trained specifically on the sermon from Jan 27, 2022. Do you have any questions about it?