Be Kind to Yourself This Christmas

These phrases litter our lives, and campaigns for kindness are in abundance. It seems the world is aware of the need for kindness, but lacking an understanding of its flow. It’s important to filter the words coming out of our mouths with kindness, but often overlooked is the importance of speaking kind words of affirmation over our own lives. It is true, it’s hard to love others when we do not love ourselves.

What is the proper perspective on loving ourselves? It’s starts with the Author of love, and the One who created each of us. He is the one we consult to confidently accept who and Whose we are.

God created each of us. Scripture says He knit us in our mother’s womb and knows every hair on our heads. Our Father in heaven has given each of us a unique gift and purpose for our lives. That purpose, however, isn’t for self-gratification, self-love, or any other version of selfishness which the world puts on a pedestal and mirages as good mental health habits. It’s extremely important to take care of ourselves, but putting ourselves at the center of our purpose for existence isn’t the most peaceful or peace-filled way to live.

The path to peace comes through joy. We celebrate peace and joy a lot in the Christmas season. Peace in Christ surpasses all understanding. It’s calm in the midst of chaos, like the eye of a hurricane. We are meant to be at peace, with our lives and the calamity in the world, by understanding the place God has for us in it. Faith in Him ushers in peace. He is in control, not us. The part we play is important, but impossible things become reality through Christ Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

Joy, when we come to accept Jesus as our Savior, is one of the fruits of the Spirit which begin to grow and be nurtured in our lives. Joy is not affected by circumstance, as happiness is. Joy is anchored in the hope we have in Jesus – God’s One and only Son, whom He sent from heaven to earth, born in Bethlehem on what we now celebrate as Christmas Day. Jesus came to save us from being separated from God forever because of the penalty of sin running rampant on this earth since the fall of Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden. In the greatest love story of all time, Jesus willingly came to earth, walked out the will of His Father, and sacrificed His life once for all – for us.

Self-worth is found through the worthiness of Christ Jesus. Resurrected and seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, Jesus intercedes for us and remains with us all of the time through the incarnation of the Holy Spirit in everyone who believes in Him. Self-worth is found in recognizing how small we are in the world around us, yet how big our part is to play in the Kingdom of God. This Christmas, when we remember the babe born in Bethlehem, let’s choose to recognize how loved we are. Before He knew us, He loved us. Before we were born, we had a purpose.

Kindness is considerate, helpful, and generous. Kindness expresses goodwill. The kindness of God, to us, is fully expressed in Jesus. He helps us, and is generous, considerate, and compassionate towards us. His goodwill towards us is expressed in Christ. The Holy Spirit lives in us, powerfully reminding us of who we are, and Whose we are.

This Christmas, we will be tempted to overfill our calendars, and stretch ourselves thin to fit all of the things in. The risk we run, when we operate in our own agenda and not God’s design for us, is burnout. We have a very real enemy intent on destroying us, and He uses what can look like good things to twist us up into a ball of exhaustion physically, mentally and spiritually.

Kindness begins in our own hearts. To spread love and kindness this Christmas, let’s ask two questions to filter out anything unkind before we speak, act, or entertain a thought for very long.

Is It True?

“Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you” (Proverbs 4:25).

Human beings are easily distracted. We do not have the natural ability to see ourselves or each other through the lens of the Lord, God Almighty. In order to adjust our perspective inwardly and of each other, the following Truth is good to have on hand! Scripture tells us who we are, and the Holy Spirit is faithful to remind us. The apostle John wrote:

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you” (John 14:16-17).

We are loved. We are chosen. We are forgiven. We are redeemed. We are children of God. Kathryn Graves wrote, “We hear a lot about authenticity and transparency today. Nobody is more transparent than the Lord Jesus Christ about His mission and what He intends for His people.”

Click here for a full list of truths about who we are.

Is It Helpful?

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future” (John 16:13).

If we’re not careful to fix our eyes on Christ Jesus, we can easily start to drown in dark thoughts, doubts, and lies. “The Holy Spirit gives us life,” Leo Schuster wrote. “He comes to live in us and fill us, and in doing so he guides us as a counselor would - supporting, convicting us of our sin, strengthening us in Christ, encouraging us in the way we should live, helping us to pray, and even praying for us when we’re too weak to do so ourselves.”

God loves us. Though He disciplines us when we make bad choices which lead us to destructive habits, He is good. When we feel held captive by dark and destructive thoughts, we have the power to deflate them by speaking the truth of God. The same is true for our attitude towards others. We can ask for God’s help to see them as He does!

Click here for verse about how the Holy Spirit helps us.

Conclusion

Kindness is like honey to the soul. It’s a warm blanket and the glow of Christmas lights in these long, cold, dark winter days. Kindness is rooted in who God is, and who we are in Him. Let us not every forget who we are. When we embrace our identity in Christ, kindness flows from us, like honey to the souls purposefully placed around us. Kindness, like the willing sacrifice Jesus made for us, put into motion long before He was born to Mary and Joseph as a baby in Bethlehem Christmas night. Through that babe – the mighty Son of God – we can grow to understand kindness on a supernatural level, which will change the world around us. Not by packing our schedules and forcing nice sentiments, but by walking in step with Him as we were always meant to.

More from this author
Extend the Gift of Peace This Christmas
Christmas Illuminates God’s Glory
The Powerful Gift of Positive People

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Deagreez

Meg writes about everyday life within the love of Christ at megbucher.com. She is the author of “Friends with Everyone, Friendship within the Love of Christ,” “Surface, Unlocking the Gift of Sensitivity,” “Glory Up, The Everyday Pursuit of Praise,” “Home, Finding Our Identity in Christ,” and "Sent, Faith in Motion." Meg earned a Marketing/PR degree from Ashland University but stepped out of the business world to stay home and raise her two daughters …which led her to pursue her writing passion. A contributing writer for Salem Web Network since 2016, Meg is now thrilled to be a part of the editorial team at Salem Web Network. Meg loves being involved in her community and local church, leads Bible study, and serves as a youth leader for teen girls.