Podcast Summary

Jack Hibbs Podcast – "Who Cares About Self-Care"

Host: Jack Hibbs
Date: January 15, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Jack Hibbs addresses the modern concept of “self-care” and critically examines it through a biblical lens. He challenges the cultural trend of prioritizing self as a means of fulfillment, warning against the narcissistic pitfalls often embedded in this mindset. Jack encourages listeners to distinguish between self-centered and truly healthy self-care, ultimately contending that deepening one’s relationship with God is the most genuine form of self-care.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Cultural Rise of "Self-Care"

• Jack contextualizes the self-care movement as a significant trend among the younger generation, but affirms that self-care is not a new human issue.
• Quote: "The Bible says that there is nothing new under the sun. Terminologies change when a generation is seeking an answer regarding a life human issue." (01:41)
• He cautions not to dismiss self-care outright but to approach it with discernment—especially as a Christian.

2. Healthy vs. Narcissistic Self-Care

• Jack draws a clear line between necessary, healthy self-care and narcissistic self-indulgence:
  • Healthy: Activities that draw you closer to God and equip you to serve others better.
  • Narcissistic: Seeking self-care at the expense of others, fostering entitlement, manipulation, and self-centeredness.
• Quote: "Is your self care narcissistic or is your self care needed? Are we saying that I need to take care of myself at the expense of others?" (00:39, revisited 15:50)

3. Biblical Analysis of Needs

• Encourages asking: Are my needs biblically sound?
• Jack confides that even after decades as a believer, he continually discerns between personal desires and Christlike action.
• Quote: "Are my needs biblically sound? Because here I am at 68 years of age and I’ve been a Christian for 49 years, and yet...I have to discern and make a choice between...my self care versus what is that which needs to be done by me, spoken by me...that is Christlike." (04:30)

4. Manipulation & Narcissism—The Danger of Unchecked Self-Care

• Jack warns that unchecked self-care can manifest as manipulation, dishonesty, resourcefulness (in a negative way), and ultimately, anxiety:
  • Manipulation: "We are prone, unchecked, to manipulate conversations and situations." (09:30)
  • Lying: "Manipulators are always liars. They will lie...to be the center of the photo." (10:30)
  • Resourcefulness: He notes that narcissists and con artists are “crazy resourceful,” always scheming to meet their own needs (13:00).

5. Self-Reliance & Anxiety

• Jack connects extreme self-reliance to isolation, lack of trust (even in God), and a root cause of anxiety.
  • Quote: "When we become self reliant because we're mere mortals…we know that something could fall through the grate...that causes anxiety." (16:25)
  • Cites Philippians: "Be anxious for nothing but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." (c. 19:05)

6. The Biblical Model: Jesus & Jacob

• Points out Jesus as the ultimate example of dependence on God: "Not my will, Father, but Thy will be done." (15:45)
• Uses Jacob from Genesis as a cautionary tale—a man obsessed with self-care, manipulation, and scheming until he encounters the reality of God and realizes he has been chasing the wrong things (23:40).

7. The Futility of Material Self-Fulfillment

• Jack points to Hollywood and celebrity culture as evidence that chasing self-fulfillment, even with every material advantage, leads to dissatisfaction, brokenness, and sometimes tragedy.
  • Quote: "You think those guys got the answer? You think those guys are content?...They wind up becoming narcissists...disillusioned, lost and broken and tired and scared." (22:20)

8. The True Path to Self-Care: Seeking God

• Summarizes the Christian solution with Matthew 6:33: "Seek first the kingdom of God and all these other things shall be added unto you." (24:15)
• Uses the illustration of Linus from Charlie Brown dropping his blanket only when praising Jesus—highlighting that real security and peace are found in worship, not self-soothing rituals. (20:45)
• Quote: "Drop your blanket, lift your hand in praise and give thanksgiving to God for what the Lord has promised you and what you do have." (21:05)
• Repeats the main advice: "The greatest self care you can give yourself is to experience God in an ever deepening way." (05:30, 25:10)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On generational commonality:
  "At the age of 68, the human side of our needs and thoughts are the same...as when we’re 28. You sound like my parents or grandparents? I know, I’m hearing it. I sympathize with you." (03:00)
• On isolation vs. community:
  "We are social creatures. You might think, 'I don’t care about others.' Actually you do, you just don’t know it." (08:20)
• On the foolishness of self-consultation:
  "If you’re not going to God, instead you’re spending time with yourself—to get answers from who? Yourself. That is a definition of a fool." (19:30)
• On Jacob’s turning point:
  "Jacob woke up and he said, 'I had no idea that God was in this place.'" (24:00)
• Repeated Core Statement:
  "I don’t care if you’re 10 or 110, the answer is still the same: Seek first the kingdom of God." (25:10)

Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|------------------------------------------------| | 00:39 | Defining self-care: narcissism vs. necessity | | 04:30 | Biblical analysis of personal needs | | 09:30 | The manipulative side of unchecked self-care | | 13:00 | On resourcefulness as a narcissistic trait | | 15:45 | Jesus as the ultimate example; not self-reliant | | 16:25 | Self-reliance leads to anxiety | | 19:30 | The folly of self-counsel | | 20:45 | Linus & the security blanket metaphor | | 22:20 | Celebrity culture—proof self-indulgence fails | | 23:40 | Jacob in Genesis: a portrait of self-care gone wrong | | 24:15 | Solution: Seek first the kingdom (Matthew 6:33) | | 25:10 | Universal application regardless of age |

Final Takeaway

Jack Hibbs concludes that modern self-care, when divorced from a biblical foundation, risks becoming self-destructive, pointless, and isolating. True self-care, he urges, means seeking God above all, letting Him define your needs, and letting your life be shaped by service, worship, and gratitude—not self-focus.