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{"id":11404,"date":"2012-06-05T19:27:05","date_gmt":"2012-06-05T23:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nakedpastor.com\/?p=11404"},"modified":"2012-06-05T19:27:05","modified_gmt":"2012-06-05T23:27:05","slug":"be-selfish-for-a-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/nakedpastor\/2012\/06\/be-selfish-for-a-change\/","title":{"rendered":"be selfish for a change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"be$ <\/a><\/p>\n

To take care of yourself is a sign of weakness and selfishness. To take time for yourself in order to care for yourself is understood as an unfortunate need for an inconvenient sabbatical that is temporary until you get well enough to serve others again.<\/p>\n

Which is odd! Because the people we admire from the bible, like Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Paul, were the most radical, independent and uncooperative people we could ever meet. They had a knack for not keeping followers, and losing popularity seemed to be their greatest skill. Plus, spending long periods of time alone\u2026 sometimes insistently\u2026 was habitual.<\/p>\n

So take some time for yourself! You will feel selfish because you\u2019ve been trained to think that way. So here\u2019s how you do it: allow yourself to feel selfish. Try to see it as an act of strength. Say you\u2019re doing what Jesus would do. Or Paul. Or Moses. Tell yourself that you\u2019re putting the oxygen mask on yourself first in order to be safe and sane enough to help people later and more effectively.<\/p>\n

Look at this beautiful scene I painted. The snow, the sky, the trees\u2026 one could call them selfish. They aren\u2019t \u201cthinking\u201d of anyone else. But they play a marvellous role in giving us a sense of serenity just by being.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what I did. It works.<\/p>\n

Do you like this painting I did called \u201cSerenity\u201d? You can buy a print here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"