Take time to care for your own heart and soul

By Editor | November 4, 2010 |

The following is an article a fellow minister friend of mine shared with me. I hope it provokes thought and self-examination in you as it did me.
Song of Solomon 1:6 says: “Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!”
The writings of Solomon are intriguing and inspiring, to say the least. His expressions in the Song of Songs are no exception. What a beautiful account of this young bride and her lover, the unnamed shepherd. It is a poetic and dramatic record of their affection one toward the other. Though there are numerous lessons to be derived from the eight chapters of this captivating account, I wish to convey one solitary message nestled within the expression shared in chapter 1 verse 6.
The cry of this young woman’s heart is to not gaze upon her outward appearance. She exclaims that, “I am dark because the sun has looked upon me.” In all her outdoor labors, tending to the vineyards of her family, she was overexposed to the sun. Now darkened and sunburned, her once pale beauty now obscured by the ruthless rays of the sun, she is ashamed to be looked upon. The reality of her condition sinks in, and she makes a confession that echoes in my heart today, “My own vineyard I have not kept.”
The truth of this moment is profound and pivotal. In the maintaining of everyone else’s vineyard, she neglected to maintain herself. The natural beauty that once radiantly shown from her face was now a distant memory. Without thought of herself, the sun had stolen away her attractiveness while she labored for the sake of others.
How true is this of many Christians today. We become so wrapped up on everything else – our jobs, serving others, tending to the children, moving the lawn, painting the house, reaching for the lost and giving time to others. All these are necessary and fulfilling actions. But here is the issue: In all of our caring for others, may we not neglect to care for ourselves.
Romans 12:1 says: “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
The writer of Romans makes it very clear that “you” are to “present your bodies unto God.”
Jude penned in his epistle, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” (Jude 1:20-21).
The simple instruction is this is: Take time for your own vineyard, your heart and soul. Weeds of bitterness can spring up on our heart. Worldly thoughts can take root in our mind. Wrong attitudes can seed down into the soil of our spirit. Before long, the fruit of the spirit can be overtaken by sheer oversight. Not intentional, we just become so involved in other things that we don’t even realize that our own vineyard has not been kept.
Take the time – your vineyard needs it.