The Woman A Look at Culture from a Christian worldview, I'm John Stone Street with a point.

A recent article in Box detailed the rise in consequences of the self-care movement.

What started as calls for rest or maybe a binge of mind-numbing television or a bath became an anthem for isolation and

self-obsession.

Self-care companies sold all kinds of cures for our stress and mental health problems

like candles, lotions, journals, routines, and each one encouraged us to focus on ourselves.

And yet, what's the fruit of this movement?

We've never been more lonely and depressed.

According to one 2013 study, our materialism and our loneliness are locked in a vicious cycle.

Of course, rest and reflection are essentials that are spoken of in scripture.

The Bible always orients our attention upward to our maker and outward to our relationships with others.

The focus is not inward.

When our focus is inward, then self-care quickly devolves into self-obsession

and ultimately just a greater sense of emptiness.

For the Colston Center, I'm John Stone Street with the Point.