The Value of Health
The year was 1994: I was 37 years old, and 23 pounds overweight. The doctors findings validated years of self-negligence?my blood works were a horror story, my cholesterol bad, and my sugar off the charts. I had seriously bad eating habits then and high stress levels. On top of all that, I was suffering from sleep apnea and periodic dizziness. Life wasnt good.
My Christian doctor lovingly told me that if I did not change my lifestyle, my health would spiral out of control. His main advice was to do something about it now before it was too late. The value of health is not hard to see, but more than just making the case for good health, the goal of this article is to see what the Bible teaches about it.
Health Defined
Health is more than just not being ill. Even the secular world knows that: the World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
The literal meaning of the word health is to be made whole. In other words, when we are unhealthy, then there is something in our make up that is not whole. Theres something lacking?and Im not just talking about the body.
The Bible tells us that, Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. (3 John 1: 2) Part of our over-all make up is the reality that our good health is intertwined with the conditions of our spirit and soul. So here are three quick thoughts on health that will hopefully help you increase your lifes value:
1. Dont skip on the medicine.
Proverbs 17: 22 says, A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Very few people realize that joy is another form of medicine, and the lack of it can reflect badly on our health.
Further, the Bible tells us in Nehemiah 8: 10b: Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Grief is the loss of joy and, as previously mentioned, results in diminishing health. For this, we need to guard our hearts from grief and insist on living a life of joy.
How? The best source of joy comes from remaining to walk in Gods path and being in His presence. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16: 11)
God grants not only joybut the fullness of it.
2. Invest in your health.
As disciples of Christ, it is easy to declare that By Gods grace, I will enjoy good health! Theres nothing wrong with having faith like that, but you also have to do your part in maintaining proper health.
In this case, we look to the truth about grace. Gods grace affords us the freedom to eat from any tree in the garden (Genesis 2: 16), and to live a lifestyle that is free from condemnation and the rigors of legalistic dietary rules. However, the Bible also cautions us that ?All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. (1 Corinthians 10: 23)
We need to be discerning about what we eat, the way we live, where we go, and what we expose ourselves to?this applies even to the amount of stress we allow ourselves to endure. In short, having good health is intricately connected to our daily lifestyle choices.
3. Love your body.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. ?1 Corinthians 6:19
It all boils down to Lordship. The fact remains that what we do with our bodies is a serious matter to God. Let me ask you this: Are the things you do to and with your body honoring the One who made and bought you?
The attitude of our hearts matters to God. He cares, and He has a say. Therefore, to see Him as Lord means to choose to walk in His path and presence, which in turn results to experiencing greater levels of joy. This is equally true with regard to the lifestyle choices we make.
When we make Jesus the Lord over our bodies, we will see an exponential increase in our health.
Until next time.
My Comments Policy
While my site offers visitors the ability to converse, I have a few ground rules so that our conversations will remain civil and courteous.
1. You must register in order to leave a comment. I don’t entertain pseudo, anonymous or bogus individuals. This site is my home (it has a Home Page, get it). I don’t let strangers who don’t introduce themselves into my home.
2. I love questions. I love them because a lot of times they are similar to someone else’s questions and can even trigger other questions from others. Questions also keep us all sharp. This is also why I respond to them as best as I can and at the soonest possible time. I believe that group answering benefits more people than private email exchanges.
3. We don’t have to agree. Debates are welcome. However, whether it is with me or any other visitors of my site, my rule is this: disagree if you must but keep things civil. That’s just how I run my home, and you are a visitor here. No shouting; I have seen it done in writing. No cursing and no insulting.
4. I reserve the right to delete your comments. Like I said, this is my home. I do not have an obligation to publish your comments. As a human being, you may enjoy the freedom to express your opinions on your own site but not on mine. To be specific, I will delete your comments if you post content that is in my sole opinion: (a) snarky; (b) off-topic; (c) libelous, defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, profane, pornographic, offensive, false, misleading, or which otherwise violates or encourages others to violate my sense of decorum, civility or any law, including intellectual property laws; or (d) “spam,” i.e. an attempt to advertise, solicit, or otherwise promote goods and services. You may, however, post a link to your site or your most recent blog entry.
5. You retain ownership of your comments. I do not own them and I expressly disclaim any and all liability that may result from them. By commenting on my site, you agree that you retain all ownership rights in what you post here and that you will relieve me from any and all liability that may result from those posts.
6. You grant me the license to post your comments. This license is worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free. By posting comments on my site, you automatically grant me the right to store, use, transmit, display, publish, reproduce, and distribute your comments in any format, including but not limited to a blog, in a book, video, or presentation.
In short, my goal is to host interesting conversations with caring, honest, and respectful people. I believe this clear and simple comments policy will facilitate this.
