The Bible is clear that every Christian is called to care for others. This includes generously giving of our time, resources, and ourselves. It can be easy to get caught up in our own lives and forget about the needs of others, but we are called to put others first. In this blog post, we will discuss what it means to care for others selflessly and how we can do it effectively!
First, get your eyes off of yourself.
When you start to care for others, you’ll begin to see the world through a different lens. You’ll be more interested in other people’s lives and what they’re going through. It can be easy to be consumed with our own pressures, worries, and fears.
Think of it as the selfie setting on the camera. You can flip the camera to face you, or you can face it outward. Each day we make the decision to focus on ourselves or others. When I only focus on my own issues, I will fail at being loving toward Christ and others.
Start by making a list of three to five people you know need your prayer and support today. What can you do to show them the love of Christ? Write a note? Take them for an unhurried conversation over coffee? Drop a care package on their porch? give them a text message with a Bible verse?
Taking your eyes off of yourself can bring encouragement to you that you will never have by focusing only on yourself.
Second, be honest with God and others.
Being honest with God and others is a key part of caring selflessly. It means being open and transparent about our thoughts, feelings, and struggles. It can be hard to let others see our weaknesses, but it is important that we do. When we are honest, it builds trust and allows others to help us, and in turn, let us in their life to care for them.
Being authentic about our own needs opens up a more meaningful prayer conversation and relationship with believers. Knowing how to pray for one another allows us to pray more specifically. It brings God and His power into the care relationship in a vital way.
If you are having a hard time being honest, start by praying and asking God to help you. Then, find a trusted friend or family member to confide in. You may also want to consider talking to a biblical counselor. Honesty is an important part of selfless care! Those who care the best are first good at receiving care from others.
Third, get the training you need to help others.
It is important to get biblical training for caring for others because it will give us the tools we need to do it effectively. The Bible is our guidebook for life, and when we learn how to apply it to our relationships, it makes a huge difference.
When we have biblical training, we learn about things like unconditional love practically applied in our church and in our relationships. We learn what it looks like to love our enemies, how to have difficult conversations, and how to extend grace. We also learn how to set boundaries and take care of ourselves.
If you are interested in getting biblical training for caring for others, there are many great resources available. One of those is a free Biblical Counseling Summit that we are giving away this weekend. It includes 6 videos on the importance of care in the church.
These videos are jam-packed with relevant and helpful resources for improving your care for others. This is a great resource for individuals, groups, church staff, biblical counselors, lay teams, and the like! You can reserve your free ticket by visiting biblicalcounselingsummit.com
Here is a two-minute promo of the series:
So let’s go do the work of Christ by caring well!
