We have a tendency to compartmentalize various aspects of
our lives, like keeping the physical separate from the spiritual. In actuality, it is all linked together, and
you can try to blindly build the separating walls, but it doesn’t change
reality. For example, let’s consider our
health. Some of us neglect taking care
of our bodies, claiming to focus on things that are really important. But
according to the Bible, health is a spiritual issue. Our bodies are on loan to us by God and He
expects us to take care of them. God
created it, Jesus died for it, the Holy Spirit lives in it, so we should care
for it.
What we do with our bodies either honors or dishonors
God. There is nothing in between. You
can be in poor health circumstances even if it is not a result of your choices,
but how you handle those circumstances will either honor or dishonor God.
I grew up in a church where honoring God with your body
meant don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t dance.
I’m rebellious at heart, so if you give me a “don’t” rule, and I want to
prove it wrong. So, what if, instead, we
looked at what we should DO instead of DON’T do? There are three key areas:
1. Eat
nutritious food. What we put into our
bodies, affects our bodies. We have been
immunized to this idea in the United States.
Ease of access, cost-effectiveness, and speed of preparation has become
our priority over the contents of the food.
Are you eating for pleasure or have you been eating for health? God DID give us food to enjoy, but when we
eat, we should look at our motivation.
Eat to give glory to God and care for your body rather than making
pleasure or ease your priority. Look for
foods you enjoy that are nutrient rich and good for you. Think through what you eat in the context of
whether it glorifies God. This motive
will last longer than any other temporary motivation, such as losing weight,
and will create a good habit in your life.
2. Live
a healthy lifestyle. Lifestyle habits
are not prescriptive in Scripture and are culturally diverse, rooted in were we
are born and what is available. The
American lifestyle is the most sedentary of any culture in all of history, now
that we generally have desk jobs and the chores required of most of us do not
involve as much physical activity as they did even 100 years ago. We
spend a lot of time on screens, even looking at multiple screens, and only when
we turn them off, we are more likely to move around. We are to look at what the Word has to say
and apply biblical concepts to our choices.
Anytime we put Jesus first, we are bound to take good steps.
3. Keep
fit. A mind and body that is fit may
have more opportunity to serve and to care for others, pointing toward the
glory of God. Fitness is an area where
we need caution to not go too far in either direction. Taking care of our body is a step we take to
glorify God. But you can also take it
too far and forget the purpose of bringing glory to God and taking the glory
for yourself – to look good, to look
hot, to look young.
Knowing that all our activities have eternal
significance, we should put first things first.
When we focus on just ourselves and our bodies, it makes it about us, so
we must re-focus and put first things first.
Put God first. Then, we are to
put others second. When we do this, it
indirectly impacts how we look at our habits and lifestyles. We are not our own. We were meant to honor
God with our bodies while seeking Jesus and living in community with others.
Based on the sermon at Fellowship Bible Church. You can listen to the message, which is called "Seven - Health" at http://www.fbctopeka.com/media.
