Listen

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten young bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. Now five of them were wise, and the other five were foolish. The foolish ones took their lamps but didn’t bring oil for them. But the wise ones took their lamps and also brought containers of oil.

Matthew 25:1-4

Think

Sometimes we know the wise thing to do and—when we’re tired, overwhelmed, lonely, or anxious—still choose something else. The easier choice gives us relief that we may genuinely need.

But trouble comes when today’s relief keeps becoming tomorrow’s problem. The five wise women in Jesus’ story couldn’t predict when the bridegroom would arrive, so they carried the heavier burden of more oil to ensure their future selves would have what they needed.

Author Brianna Wiest describes self-care as building “a life you don’t need to regularly escape from.” Sometimes the wise choice is doing the hard thing that makes life a little more livable later: going to bed, telling the truth, asking for help, doing the work we’ve avoided.

Wisdom cultivates a loving relationship between our present and future selves. Jesus doesn’t shame us for needing relief, but he’ll never stop inviting us to care for the person we’ll be tomorrow.

Holle Tubbs

Question to Ponder:

What’s one way you can both care for what you need right now and what you’ll need tomorrow?

Pray

God of wisdom, help me notice your voice, trust your love, and choose the path that leads to life. Amen.

Go

Wisdom grows every time we pause, listen, and choose love.