WISDOM FOR HEALTHY LIVING

“She is a TREE of LIFE to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her” – Proverbs 3:18

In order for us to live long and healthy, we must acknowledge God’s WISDOM for HEALTHY LIVING: “Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her” (Pro.3: 16-18). Wisdom is a Tree of Life; it can make us live well and long. Foolishness can cut short our life before our time. Wisdom makes healthy; lack of wisdom makes sickly. Wisdom can release one from sickness; foolishness can keep one in sickness. Wisdom gives Life, not death. God would have us to operate in wisdom that will keep us healthy. God’s Mind on healthy living is also reflected in Apostle John’s third epistle: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and BE IN HEALTH, just as your soul prospers” (3Jh.2).

We live in times when many are in frantic search of solutions to their health challenges. Thankfully, God has solutions to all problems, including health-related issues. He made ample provision before the creation of Man, for his health and wellbeing. Our primary Source of Sound Health is therefore God Himself. He plays a fundamental part in keeping us alive and healthy: “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days” (Exo.23: 25-26). God heals diseases (Psa.103: 3). He has promised: “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation” (Psa.91:16).

However, God has provided both supernatural and natural means of health for humankind. Natural provisions for wellbeing include: air (oxygen), water and rain, gravity, sunshine, sleep, food, and knowledge. To explore, discover and take advantage of these provisions is our privilege. For example, right from the Garden of Eden, God instituted the principle of proper nourishment: “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your FOOD” (Gen.1: 29-30, NLT). The principles of healthy living have existed ever before we began to pay attention to them.

Health problems are primarily due to: sin, satanic affliction, diet and lifestyle choices, the environment, or a combination of these. However, Healthy Living begins with Knowledge: “through knowledge the righteous will be delivered” (Pro.11:9b). Ignorance is a killer; while Wisdom is correct application of Knowledge (Hos.4:6). A wise man has said: “What we need to solve our health challenges is NOT more MEDICATION, but more EDUCATION”! We can only do what is right when we know what is right: “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1Cor.10:31). Our bodies are sacred temples for God’s Spirit, and should be so honoured (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6: 19-20).

The Wisdom of Scriptures teaches that health does not necessarily flow from tablets or syringes. It is never a chance occurrence. Health is often the outcome of our beliefs, choices, actions, or inactions. It is a product of an array of deliberate lifelong choices relating to: abstinence, diet, emotions, exercise, habits, hydration, moderation, nourishment, relationships, work, rest, social life, spiritual life, thought life, safety consciousness, stress, sunshine, personal hygiene, environmental sanitation, gratitude, and worship. Lasting health derives from a lifetime of informed choices and deliberate decisions aligned with God’s principles of health as enunciated in Scriptures, and as confirmed by true science and human experience.

A wise person is not ignorant of what to do to live a healthy life: “Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time?” (Ecc.17:7). While ageing is a fact of life, it is quite possible through the wisdom of spiritual, dietary and lifestyle choices, to influence the pace of ageing and live well and long for God’s Glory!