Part 2 of an Interview with Eliza Huie and Esther Smith,
Authors of The Whole Life
If you want to read Part 1 go Here
Breaking down the misconceptions that self-care is not biblical, The Whole Life by Eliza Huie and Esther Smith reveals that caring for yourself doesn’t mean you are being selfish or lazy. Instead, it’s a way of stewarding every part of life for God’s glory and the good of others. Contrary to what our culture might lead us to believe, exhaustion and burnout are not unavoidable pitfalls of a faithful Christian life. Instead, they are warning signs that we need to turn to God for daily help. This book will reorient readers to the core value of resting their heart, mind, and strength in Christ.
Q: Stewardship is a word you use a lot in The Whole Life. Usually, we think of stewardship being about how we spend our money, but how does stewardship apply to every part of our lives?
The Bible does not limit stewardship to our finances. We are called to be good stewards of God’s varied graces. This includes ourselves. All parts of us. God gave us bodies that need care. He gave us souls that need attention. He put us in relationships that require time and effort. He designed us to think and feel deeply about our life circumstances and we must wisely manage our responses to those circumstances. Being good stewards means we are aware of how we are doing in all these areas of life, not only how we spend our money but how we spend our time and energy. Stewardship includes all the various parts of our lives that the Lord has given to us.
Q: How do you practice biblical meditation, and why is it an important part of spiritual self-care?
Biblical meditation is the practice of deliberately slowing down to consider deeply the Word of God. One way to meditate is to draw on your daily Bible reading. As you read a passage of Scripture, you can choose a word or phrase that sticks out to you. You might close your eyes and sit with that word or phrase for a few minutes, considering how God might be speaking to you through that Scripture and how it might apply to your life.
Biblical meditation is an important part of spiritual self-care because it helps God’s Word stick with us throughout the day. How often do we quickly read the Bible and not retain anything it says? Meditation helps us slow down. Focusing on a word or phrase for an extended period of time increases the likelihood of remembering that truth later in the day when we need it.
Q: Why do we feel like we have to keep pushing ourselves, even when we become physically burned out? Why do we think that is biblical?
Pushing through to the point of burnout happens for a variety of reasons. One common reason is that people find themselves stuck in busy schedules and simply aren’t sure how to change. Our culture makes it easy to fall into overwork. To a large degree, peoples’ ability to work and be productive is equated with their value. Working hard makes us feel competent and worthy. At times, we push through out of false guilt, legalistic tendencies, savior complexes, or because we feel uncomfortable at the mere thought of not being productive. When signs of burnout surface, many people push forward because they underestimate the consequences of this choice or because they have never seen a more balanced life modeled to know what it might look like.
The question we need to consider is this. Do we really think working in that way is biblical? Or do we just use that idea as an excuse? The most common Scripture people use to support pushing through to the point of burnout is Jesus’ encouragement to take up our cross and deny ourselves. As Christians we are to live self-sacrificial lives, give to everyone who asks, and not grow weary in doing good works. We use these commands to justify overwork. In reality, these commands can exist alongside our human need for spiritual rest and physical refreshment.
Q: Why is emotional health so often neglected? Why is there such an embarrassment and stigma attached to getting professional help?
Many people neglect emotional health simply because they don’t realize how important it is. Some Christians circles view emotions as dangerous or deceitful experiences that only serve to lead us astray. This fear can prevent people from discovering how important emotions are to our ability to connect with others and navigate struggles. It can also lead people to shut down their emotions or become frightened when they struggle to manage them.
Professional help is stigmatized for a variety of reasons. The inability to handle emotional or mental problems is often associated with feelings of weakness and failure. Many people believe that if someone only prays enough or recites the right Scripture then problems will be bearable. In this context, needing professional help feels shameful. People feel defeated that their faith was not strong enough to get them through the struggle. People begin to think that something must be wrong with them for needing counseling or other professional services. However, God never designed us to walk through life alone. He designed us to live in community and to find help and support from others as well as from him and his Word.
Q: How important is community to living an overall healthy life?
It’s hard to overstate how important community is to living a healthy life. Most of us take community for granted and don’t realize it’s importance until it isn’t available to us. For many people, the importance of community was highlighted as they experienced isolation throughout the pandemic. People saw that the inability to worship in person affects us spiritually. The absence of regular human contact increases depression and anxiety. Loneliness impacts our physical health. Long periods of isolation highlight how much we need community to live a healthy life.
We weren’t created to be alone. On the contrary, we need each other. Conversations, physical contact, and human presence are essential parts of self-care. We need people to mourn with us, rejoice with us, encourage us, and stick with us through the ups and downs of life. Other people are essential to our growth and sanctification. Being in community is not only essential to our relational health, it is also a necessary aspect of our physical, emotional, and spiritual flourishing.
Q: What are some of the chapters that are your some of your favorites, but may cover areas of self-care that most readers might not think about?
Esther: I think people will be surprised by the chapter on entertainment. Many people would not consider entertainment to be a form of self-care, but I think we offer a convincing argument that entertainment can enhance our ability to care for ourselves when we use it in healthy ways. We most often think about the many ways entertainment is bad for us. We think of too much TV, excessive scrolling, and how entertainment can lead us to neglect our responsibilities. However, I have personally experienced how effective entertainment can be in helping me rest and wind down, and I’m excited for people to consider how to include it as a means of biblical self-care.
Eliza: I feel like the section of the book that talks about creativity as means of self-care will be a great encouragement to our readers. Art and creativity can be an avenue God has given to decrease stress and help bring balance to our lives. I would not describe myself as a particularly creative person but writing about this gave me a fresh perspective on how creative people can embrace their gifts and talents as a God-given way to care for themselves. I loved how this section helped me to view creativity as more than just participating in a fun hobby or craft but instead it is a way we image or Creator. I believe this section will help us all lean in a bit more to how being creative can be a means of self-care.
Q: What kind of feedback have you received from readers?
Incredible feedback! So many people have confirmed that this resource is needed. We hear from many people who feel exhausted and overwhelmed and uncertain how to step out of a frantic lifestyle. This book is the guide they are looking for.
As people dig into the book, it’s clear they feel a sense of encouragement. It’s exciting to hear self-care talked about positively from a biblical perspective instead of being made to feel guilty for taking time for yourself. Many people have also expressed surprise that self-care is broader than they realized. It includes being creative, caring for your body, and paying attention to your thoughts. We talk about many self-care topics that people haven’t considered before, and it has been exciting to watch people expand their understanding of what biblical self-care looks like.
