PHYSICAL WELLNESS (1)

“Or do you not know that your BODY is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God...? – 1 Corinthians 6:19a

The Bible’s emphasis on Spiritual and Emotional Wellness does not diminish the value of PHYSICAL WELLNESS: “Or do you not know that your BODY is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore GLORIFY GOD in your BODY and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1Cor.6: 19-20). Glorifying God in our body means recognizing that being alive in it is an immense gift, taking each breath with deep gratitude, handling the body with care, discipline and self-control, and revering God through all of our actions. We cannot trivialize the matter of such a vital vessel as the “temple of the Holy Spirit”! Without the body, the human spirit and soul cannot operate fully on this terrestrial plane.

Every individual – Believer and non-believer – is responsible and accountable to God for the handling of their body: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom.12:1). This verse refers to offering our whole selves to the Lord, our bodies in particular. The same way an athlete trains, to gain speed and agility, to be ready at a prompt, we must be fit and ready for the King, whenever He says, “Go”!

The Bible does not focus only on our spiritual growth, health, and wellness, but includes our bodies as integral to our self as loved and called by God. Our Lord Jesus commands: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your STRENGTH...” (Mk.12:30a). Loving God with all of our everything includes our bodies; our Strength! 1 Thessalonians 5:23 also buttresses the three-dimensional constitution of Man: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your WHOLE SPIRIT, SOUL, and BODY be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Word of God demands that we discipline the body: “Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I DISCIPLINE MY BODY and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1Cor.9: 26-27). Disciplining our body is an effort to keep our whole selves restrained from sin for the prize of knowing Christ and Him crucified. He desires that our exercise habits be intentional, meaningful, and profitable: “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things...” (1Tim.4:8a). Bodily training has some temporal value; while godliness has both temporal and eternal values. A fulfilled life is one that appreciates and maximizes both the temporal and eternal.

All of these do not by any means denigrate the place of Grace. Our identity and the reality of our Physical Wellness, do not lie in how strong or weak we are physically. We can “put on” God’s Strength as an adornment for our season and service: “She dresses herself with strength, and makes her arms strong” (Pro.31:17, English Standard Version). Isaiah 40:31 aptly captures this: “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Even when we get tired and weak, we can rejoice, knowing God as our unceasing Source of Strength!

God has given us the ability to keep our bodies strong, healthy and well. Practical strategies for Physical Wellness include proper nutrition and sexual health: “Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (vv.13-13) Other healthy habits that will enable us to live healthier relate to: Active living, exercise, healthy sleeping, substance use, and learning about disease and harm prevention.