In continuing to look at the Great Commandment as a perspective on clergy self-care, I want to focus on Loving God as a form of self care. In my experience, we say we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength but then we focus on loving of neighbor or self as a means of loving God. While I don’t disagree, I have begun to contemplate what it would mean to focus in on loving God.
What is it that you might do that could be construed as purely loving God? It is actually not as easy as one might think. Over the next few days I want to explore some possibilities. I don’t really know that they work but I do believe that it might be an angle on clergy care that could be beneficial. Yes, I know that you are not supposed to love someone for your own sake, but I also know that when we give our love to someone, we also benefit. So how do we love God?
Probably the first step is being willing to set aside even a small amount of time to focus completely on God. Think about spending 20 minutes of uninterupted time contemplating God in a loving way. Actually it is not so easy to do. First try it and note your own experience. Then you might want to learn more about what some others have learned about such a focus. Perhaps one of the best is Thomas Merton and the practice of Centering Prayer.
However you go about it, keep some notes on how it makes you feel. If one aspect of the Sabbath is to step outside of the normal pace of life to nurture relationships, how about beginning with a short Sabbath experience of loving God.
