Embracing Self Worth
Discovering Your Inherent Value Through Divine Love and the Importance of Self-Care Practices
I originally posted this on another publication called “New Theology of Self-Care,” but decided to pull it over here as a consolidation of publications. Over time, I will be reposting articles that were posted there for consumption and integration here on On A Long Run. I will be posting these articles on Monday’s so as not to disrupt my normal Wednesday posts. ENJOY!!!
The title of this post may stir a sense of hesitation. Is it really true? Can it be that simple? The very foundation of a Theology of Self-Care begins with what seems like a basic but profound truth:
YOU ARE WORTHY OF LOVING AND CARING FOR YOURSELF.
This might come across as bold, and yes, I’ve emphasized it with capital letters, because it is that important. It is a truth that often feels distant, even radical when we consider practicing it. Self-care should never be viewed as a luxury or something that takes away from our responsibilities, and yet turning it into something that is either earned or deserved neglects the very nature in which it is meant to be practiced.. While our vocations and the work we do in the world are important, none of that diminishes the need to be healthy and whole—mentally, physically, and spiritually. We must be well in order to live out our purpose fully. We cannot live out our calling, nor even practice our called vocation, unless we are first caring for ourselves.
Yet, we live in a society that frequently tries to tell us the opposite—that we are not worthy of such love and care. We are told that our worth is based on what we contribute. We are only given “time-off” when we have worked for a certain amount of time. Our lives are made to be open books and constant streams of contact and availability. Even the sacredness of breath is taken advantage of as we are put in mismanaged work environments, and even the world around us is abused in the name of “getting ahead.”
This then creates a distortion of self-love and self-worth that can lead us to believe that self-care is synonymous with indulgence, wealth, or luxury. When we seek to achieve what the world tells us we need, it often comes at a great cost to ourselves. We must consider:
What price do we pay in the process of pursuing society’s image of self-worth? What part of ourselves do we lose?
Hard to Embrace
It’s not easy to embrace the idea that caring for ourselves is a natural, essential part of being human. We often feel guilty or unworthy when we attempt to make space for our own well-being. This is why a theology of self-care is so crucial now more than ever. It reminds us that our worth is not conditional on what we do or achieve but rooted in who we are. I’m not saying you should ignore other’s needs, but I think it’s important to take a moment to think about what you need as well as we all go along the journey to “love our neighbors as ourselves.”
To truly embrace this, we must begin the inward work of self-reflection and self-awareness. Self-worth isn’t something handed to us (as deeply sad as that sounds)—it’s something we must discover within ourselves. This involves being honest about our needs, understanding our emotions, and recognizing where we might be holding on to false beliefs about our value. Self-reflection allows us to confront the harmful narratives we've internalized, while self-awareness helps us recognize and challenge those narratives, replacing them with the truth of our inherent worth.
Scriptural Foundation
Our sense of self-worth ultimately stems from the foundational truth of God’s love. In Genesis 1, we are told that we are created in the image of God, the Imago Dei. This divine imprint imbues each of us with inherent value, and is the stem of God’s loving nature toward all of humanity (not just people who “follow the rules”). It’s not something earned—it’s a gift bestowed upon us by our Creator at the moment of creation, and breathed into us as we draw our first breath. This is where our worth begins, and it is this truth that we must embrace if we are to care for ourselves in the ways that God intends.
1 John 4:19 says, “We love because God first loved us.”
God's love is never conditional, it is not dependent on our achievements or status. It is unwavering. This love, rooted in God’s own nature, invites us to see ourselves as worthy of love and care, because that is how God sees us. Our worth comes not from external validation but from the fact that we are beloved children of God, created in the image of love itself.
This truth is also echoed in Romans 8, where Paul proclaims that nothing—”neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is an identity of unshakable worth, established by God’s ever-abiding love. If we are never separated from that love, then our worth is also constant, regardless of what the world tells us.
We Are Loved
This understanding of self-worth begins with the acknowledgment that we are already loved, and loved completely. It is from this deep well of divine love that we draw the strength to care for ourselves. If we don’t believe that we are worthy of care, how can we ever truly care for others? If we see ourselves as lacking value, we risk viewing others the same way. But when we recognize that our value is rooted in God’s love—eternal, unwavering, and unconditional—we are able to extend that same love to others.
Self-worth is an ongoing struggle for many of us, not because we don’t want to love ourselves, but because we’ve been told we don’t deserve to. We live in an era where division and judgment reign, where one aspect of our identity can lead to rejection or exclusion from communities that could otherwise nurture our understanding of love and care. This is why our journey must start with recognizing our inherent worth.
Beginning This Inward Journey
This is an inward journey—at least at the beginning. It begins within us. We are not here to determine whether others are deserving of self-care or divine love. We are called to love others as we love ourselves, and that love must begin with an acknowledgment that we are worthy. No matter what society says, we are worthy of care. And as we embrace that truth, we are better equipped to care for those around us, because we will see this natural nature of love in ourselves being extended to how we are viewing others.
When people ask me what makes for a good self-care practice, my answer is often, “good boundaries.” Setting boundaries is one thing, but maintaining them is another. Why? Because our boundaries are a reflection of how much we value ourselves. Our self-care practices will only go as far as we allow them to, and if we don’t believe we are worth the effort, those boundaries will crumble under pressure. When our sense of worth is attacked, we often feel the need to adapt to meet the demands of others, even at our own expense. But true self-care flows from an understanding that we are deserving of love, in whatever ways we need to receive it.
Understanding Ourselves
Ultimately, our ability to love and care for ourselves is inseparable from our capacity to love and care for others. The better we understand our worth, the more authentically we can extend that same care to those around us. So remember, it begins with you. Through reflection and self-awareness, and grounded in the knowledge that nothing can separate you from God’s love, you are worthy—of love, of care, of rest, and of the boundaries that protect those sacred truths.