Oiling to the Glory of God

God has given us so many great gifts in this creation of His. Sunsets, beaches, mountains, babies, and my favorite: chocolate! One other gift that I recently discovered from our wise and loving creator is essential oils. In this discovery, I am reminded of this verse:

^“ So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31

I like to include the use essential oils in the “whatever you do” category of this wonderful Scripture. When we use the oils, we have the opportunity to praise our Creator. When we learn about their chemistry and how they complement our bodies, we can be in awe of God’s infinite wisdom. When we rejoice in how they’ve helped to cure an ailment, we can be in awe of a loving God who pours out His healing gift upon us.

But just as with any part of God’s creation, His good gifts can be distorted. God placed on my heart three areas of caution from my life to share with you.

Worship the Creator and not the creation. When I first got into this world of natural healing and oils, I found myself running to these for help BEFORE running to the Lord. Before jumping into prayer, I would jump on the internet for help. But I encourage you to always run to Him FIRST and allow Him to guide and direct the steps you should take. Often He gives a peace about which oil to use or what else to try. He knows your body best and He even knows those oils best too! Sometimes His answer is just to do nothing and to trust Him, and that’s ok too. And when healing does take place, give all the praise to God for what He did! There is a big temptation to say, “Wow! Look what this oil did!” And yes, God may have used his creation in the oils to help, but He is still the healer. We can plant a seed and give it water but God is the one who provides the growth. Likewise, we can fill our bodies with all kinds of healthy stuff, but God is the one who provides the healing. 

Be a Light in the Oily Community. There are many false belief systems, such as the New Age movement, which have distorted the use of essential oils. Be on guard against these philosophies and language such as “Auras” and “Chakras”. Discern everything you hear using the Scriptures. Be aware that those around you, especially Eastern cultures, may associate use of the oils with false practices. You may need to avoid using them or even talking about them around such people. (See 1 Corinthians 10 for more)  When you share about them, be sure that you are always pointing to the Creator as the Healer. Perhaps as more Christians get into the essential oils market the false beliefs surrounding essential oils will dissipate. Let’s be a light in the oily community that embraces the gift of oils and more importantly, the Gift giver.

Remember your treasure should be in heaven. There is an overwhelming amount of oils and other products out there that can improve your health and let’s face it, they aren’t cheap! There is a big temptation to jump all in and spend all the money you have and maybe even all the money you don’t have to buy these products. If buying oils is causing you to be in debt or is taking away from the amount of money you give to the Lord, then you need to slow down. Are your oily treasures on earth taking the place of treasure you could be storing up in heaven? Give to Him first and then steward the rest well. At the same time, know that essential oils are a good investment in your health and in the long run that probably means a good investment financially. So set a budget to the items you can buy now and have a spouse or friend looking over your shoulder for accountability. Before purchasing something, I encourage you to pray, research, and ask more experienced “oilers” for advice.  I also encourage you share your oils with others with a pure heart not expecting anything in return.  Hold your oils with an open and generous hand toward others who may benefit from them.

Let us encourage one another as we use essential oils for the Glory of God! Let us use essential oils to worship our Creator. Let us remember to always seek out his truth. Let us remember that our true treasure lies in heaven.   And let us use them to point others to His healing love and power.

Let us be oily for the Glory of God!