Healthy Living
Throughout the ages, health has been a cornerstone of God’s people. Consider the verse 3 John 2, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you”. Why does God want us to be in good health? The Israelites adhered to the God-ordained Levitical laws that brought the people exemplary health. However, in the present era, many members of the body of Christ neglect their earthly vessels. Let us consider this issue through both Biblical passages and reasoning. First, the examination of how important the body is in God’s eyes will show how we are to use it as a tool for His glory. Second, we will explore how the treatment of our bodies can either support or tear down our witness. Lastly, searching for why one would destroy their body and if it is a sin will conclude the article.
God views the body as an instrument for worship. The apostle Paul writes, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship” [Romans 12:1, emphasis mine]. This verse shows the importance of the body because it testifies that our bodies are sacrifices to the Lord; and our sacrifices are to be presented in the best condition possible because we want our offering to be pleasing to the Lord. Our dedication to honor God through our bodies brings pleasure to God! Scripture elaborates on how we are to present our sacrifice: “’When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?’ says the Lord Almighty.” [Malachi 1:8]. Deuteronomy 17:1 adds, “Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to him”. Therefore, we are commanded to do our absolute best to present our bodies to the Lord in a condition that is holy and pleasing to Him! Paul also declares that taking care of our bodies is our spiritual act of worship. We bring pleasure to God’s heart when we take care of what He has given us.
Paul elaborates further: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” [1 Corinthians 6:19-20, emphasis mine]. Just as you are to honor God by being a good steward of your possessions, you are also obligated to honor God by looking after the body that He has given you. God doesn’t dwell in buildings… He dwells in us! Our bodies are His temple! We must realize, too, that the God who gives also has the power to take away anything that is being mistreated. The body was designed with the intent of giving us life and giving it to us in abundance. However, when abused, the body cannot function properly. God longs to pour out an abundant blessing upon His people, not only spiritually, but also in the physical realm. Fatigue and disease are warnings that we are hindering the blessings that God would bestow upon us. Furthermore, God states that the body is a tool by which you are able to bring Him honor. Should we not then, as children who love an awesome heavenly Father, take advantage of every opportunity to improve our physical wellbeing, in order that we may show others the glory of God through the marvelous bodies that He has given us? In the words of Rob Bell, “How you treat the creation reflects how you feel about the creator.”
God’s people must recognize, too, that our physical health can make or break our witness for Christ. Jesus declares, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” [John 10:10]. This declaration is the primary source of power, as well as the reasoning, for a healthy life. Of course, a healthy life consists of the mental and spiritual as well as the physical. However, humans operate holistically within the spiritual, physical, and mental realms. If one area is lacking, it will bring down the others also. How can you live your life to the fullest if you are sick several times a year? As Christians, we should want to attract others to Christ via every means possible. One of these possible means is to be an example in all that you do. “Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ” [1Co 11:1]. However, according to Ross, “a 1998 study by Purdue University sociologist Kenneth Ferraro concluded that church members were more likely to be overweight than other people.” Therefore, it seems hypocritical to state that knowing Christ will improve all areas of life, if Christian physical health is below average. In addition, statistics also conclude that approximately half of all Americans alive today will die of heart disease, and approximately a third of us will develop cancer at some time in our lives (Colbert 4). Is this living life to the fullest?
Fortunately, this can be corrected, as evidenced by research conducted on a “subsistence horticulturist” society (people who survive on what they grow, gather, or harvest) on Kitava, a tropical island near Papua New Guinea. In this study, they found that heart disease was practically non-existent on this island (Rubin 40-41). Many other studies on other primitive societies arrive at the same result. One such example is the visit of the Nobel Prize-winning physician and missionary Albert Schweitzer to Gabon, Africa, of which he noted: I was astonished to encounter no cases of cancer. I saw none among the natives two hundred miles from the coast. . . . I cannot, of course, say positively that there was no cancer at all, but, like other frontier doctors, I can only say that, if any cases existed they must have been quite rare. This absence of cancer seemed to be due to the difference in nutrition of the natives compared to the Europeans. (Rubin 42)
As followers of Christ, we need to develop into a global community that will witness to others through heart, soul, mind, and body. Unless we recognize that none of these elements can be left out of the equation, we cannot be whole and complete individuals, able to live life with the abundance that Jesus has promised.
Lastly, we each have a responsibility to search our lives, to analyze whether we are living out the injunction of scripture, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” [1 Corinthians 10:31]. This directly applies to what and how much we eat. All actions are merely reactions to the condition of the heart; therefore, let us examine our hearts to understand why we do what we do. Just as we should ask ourselves before any action, “Why do I do this?” and “What would Jesus do?” we must also carry that thought process into our dietary habits. Before eating, we should ask, “Why do I eat this?” and “Would Jesus eat this?” (Colbert 1). If our motives are anything but to glorify God through the maintenance of our body through healthy food, then we should not eat it, for we are to do everything for the glory of God.
In addition, is it reasonable to think that eating ourselves into heart disease or cancer is less of a sin than smoking ourselves into lung cancer or drugging ourselves into nervous system disorders? There is no difference because whether we damage our bodies through smoking, drinking, drugging, or eating, we are still destroying our bodies, and showing contempt for that which we have been granted the privilege of taking care of. Some may claim that developing a disease through dietary habits is not as vile as developing a disease through drugs or illicit sex. However, who are we to judge the degree of a sin? The Bible advocates that a sin is a sin. How can we glorify God when we are spending our time having heart surgery (which not only puts a large burden on you, but also on loved ones who will spend both time praying and money paying for you)? Such an event brings no glory to God because in most cases it could have been avoided if the person had not abused their body to the extent that it was. Abusing our bodies in any form is a sin because it is treating with irreverence the earthly vessel that the Lord has entrusted to us.
In conclusion, God earnestly desires to see His children in the best of health; and He longs to impart to each of them the power to overcome sinful habits. God has given us our bodies, which we can use for His glory or to shame His name. By following His commands, we can use our bodies for His glory by offering our bodies as living sacrifices. By following His commands, we will have opportunities to share God’s wisdom when others ask us how we attained such great health. When others see the astounding vitality in our bodies and the joy and peace radiating from our faces, they will be drawn to Christ through us, and we will be able to share that it is because God has given it to us through the obedience of His commands. On the other hand, we can neglect it and lose our influence and the respect of others because of our lack of self-control that has led us into our illness. If we neglect it, we must realize that we are not only degrading ourselves but also misrepresenting God because we were created in God’s image and thus should reflect Him. It’s not just about being healthy; it’s about intimate communion – which health facilitates – with the only One who can make us holy, in every word, thought, and deed.
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