“I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27, NLT)
A retired couple decided that they should walk two miles a day to stay in shape. They chose to walk a mile out on a lonely country road so they would have no choice but to walk back. At the one-mile mark on their first venture, the man asked his wife, “Do you think you can make it back all right, or are you too tired?”
“Oh, no,” she said. “I’m not tired. I can make it fine.”
“Good,” he replied. “I’ll wait here. You go back, get the car and come get me.”
(Joyce Redding in Reader’s Digest, February 1980)
The human body is a wonderful thing, a miraculous creation of God. It can sustain a person through periods of drought, it can adapt to its surroundings, it can fight off illness and disease, and it is highly versatile and suitable for a great variety of work. When you were born, God gave you one body. That body has been with you until this day. It was meant to last you a lifetime. If you treat it well, it will bless you. If you treat it poorly, your health will deteriorate. Genetics will also play a factor, but how well you regulate your health is crucial to the body’s function.
Science regularly proves a connection between good eating, good exercise, and good overall health. Science has demonstrated that there is a connection between a healthy body and a healthy mind. In a document from “American Health” quoted in the November 1985 magazine “Homemade”, there was a clear finding between exercise and the mind. The article reported: “Regular exercise toughens the mind as well as the body. After working out three times a week for six months, one group was found to be 20% fitter. Bonus: they also scored 70% better in a test of complex decision making.” So, the connection between good health and a good mind is clear. How about the connection between good health and a healthy soul?
When writing to the Corinthian church, Paul wrote: “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27, NLT). Paul believed that discipline and training of the body reflected directly on the condition of the soul. Taken in context, Paul believed that discipline of the body related to the health of one’s soul. If your soul is healthy, you will desire to take care of your body and discipline your body as a sign of your respect for God. In several places in the New Testament, Paul mentioned athletes as examples for the spiritually astute. He compared the discipline of the athlete over his or her body to the discipline of the Christian in the spiritual life (i.e., 1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Corinthians 4:7). Paul called your body a “temple”, a holy place for God to live. Would you let your “temple”, a gift from God, go to ruin? Would you let it flounder? Would you waste its efficacy or purposefully let it rot away?
I have met good Christians who refused to take care of their body and then ended up unable to do mission work, incapable of attending worship, or suffering for years. All too often, I have heard among these people that they wished they could go back and do some things over. Many neglected their health and shunned good exercise. It came back to bite them later.
Carl was a well-respect and beloved pastor. He would often greet everyone with a smile and a bright “Hello!” His sermons were engaging and informative. When things went bad in a person’s life, Carl was the solid rock many counted on for strength. But Carl had a skewed view of his body. If someone called, day or night, Carl immediately responded, even if he was sick or hurting. When Carl was at a birthday party for his wife, he left to go visit a member in the emergency room of the local hospital. Time and time again, Carl would ignore his own and his family’s needs in order to help others. The longer he was in ministry, the worse it got. Carl would get so busy at church that he would hurriedly eat fast food in lieu of a meal. He would go for weeks never taking a walk. He spent so many nights at work that at times he couldn’t sleep well. He rarely took a real day off.
Fifteen years after Carl began his ministry, his doctor said, “Carl, you are fifty pounds overweight, you don’t exercise, you don’t eat right, and you don’t sleep well. I’m worried.” Later Carl’s wife implored him to go for walks with her each evening. He complained that he didn’t have time. Not long after, Carl had his first heart attack. Then, after recovering, Carl went back to his old ways. He did not follow the physical therapy and did not eat the recommended foods. The second heart attack three years later took Carl’s life. Now who is hearing him preach and being cared for? Nobody. Who now is spiritually caring for his family? Not Carl.
If you neglect your exercise and diet, it will come back to bite you. It will affect your spiritual life. If you allow your body to get diseased due to your own poor habits, your soul will suffer as well. There is a connection between body, mind, and soul. If you ignore any of the three, it will influence the others.
The scripture for today confirms again that the Apostle Paul believed in the spiritual worth of a healthy lifestyle. Do you see it as well? How well do you take care of the beautiful body God has given you? We know the worth of your soul, but your body is an important caretaker of that soul until the day it goes to heaven. So, is there something your body needs to function more effectively? Would you say you have disciplined and nurtured body as well as soul?
“Oh, no,” she said. “I’m not tired. I can make it fine.”
“Good,” he replied. “I’ll wait here. You go back, get the car and come get me.”
(Joyce Redding in Reader’s Digest, February 1980)
The human body is a wonderful thing, a miraculous creation of God. It can sustain a person through periods of drought, it can adapt to its surroundings, it can fight off illness and disease, and it is highly versatile and suitable for a great variety of work. When you were born, God gave you one body. That body has been with you until this day. It was meant to last you a lifetime. If you treat it well, it will bless you. If you treat it poorly, your health will deteriorate. Genetics will also play a factor, but how well you regulate your health is crucial to the body’s function.
Science regularly proves a connection between good eating, good exercise, and good overall health. Science has demonstrated that there is a connection between a healthy body and a healthy mind. In a document from “American Health” quoted in the November 1985 magazine “Homemade”, there was a clear finding between exercise and the mind. The article reported: “Regular exercise toughens the mind as well as the body. After working out three times a week for six months, one group was found to be 20% fitter. Bonus: they also scored 70% better in a test of complex decision making.” So, the connection between good health and a good mind is clear. How about the connection between good health and a healthy soul?
When writing to the Corinthian church, Paul wrote: “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27, NLT). Paul believed that discipline and training of the body reflected directly on the condition of the soul. Taken in context, Paul believed that discipline of the body related to the health of one’s soul. If your soul is healthy, you will desire to take care of your body and discipline your body as a sign of your respect for God. In several places in the New Testament, Paul mentioned athletes as examples for the spiritually astute. He compared the discipline of the athlete over his or her body to the discipline of the Christian in the spiritual life (i.e., 1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Corinthians 4:7). Paul called your body a “temple”, a holy place for God to live. Would you let your “temple”, a gift from God, go to ruin? Would you let it flounder? Would you waste its efficacy or purposefully let it rot away?
I have met good Christians who refused to take care of their body and then ended up unable to do mission work, incapable of attending worship, or suffering for years. All too often, I have heard among these people that they wished they could go back and do some things over. Many neglected their health and shunned good exercise. It came back to bite them later.
Carl was a well-respect and beloved pastor. He would often greet everyone with a smile and a bright “Hello!” His sermons were engaging and informative. When things went bad in a person’s life, Carl was the solid rock many counted on for strength. But Carl had a skewed view of his body. If someone called, day or night, Carl immediately responded, even if he was sick or hurting. When Carl was at a birthday party for his wife, he left to go visit a member in the emergency room of the local hospital. Time and time again, Carl would ignore his own and his family’s needs in order to help others. The longer he was in ministry, the worse it got. Carl would get so busy at church that he would hurriedly eat fast food in lieu of a meal. He would go for weeks never taking a walk. He spent so many nights at work that at times he couldn’t sleep well. He rarely took a real day off.
Fifteen years after Carl began his ministry, his doctor said, “Carl, you are fifty pounds overweight, you don’t exercise, you don’t eat right, and you don’t sleep well. I’m worried.” Later Carl’s wife implored him to go for walks with her each evening. He complained that he didn’t have time. Not long after, Carl had his first heart attack. Then, after recovering, Carl went back to his old ways. He did not follow the physical therapy and did not eat the recommended foods. The second heart attack three years later took Carl’s life. Now who is hearing him preach and being cared for? Nobody. Who now is spiritually caring for his family? Not Carl.
If you neglect your exercise and diet, it will come back to bite you. It will affect your spiritual life. If you allow your body to get diseased due to your own poor habits, your soul will suffer as well. There is a connection between body, mind, and soul. If you ignore any of the three, it will influence the others.
The scripture for today confirms again that the Apostle Paul believed in the spiritual worth of a healthy lifestyle. Do you see it as well? How well do you take care of the beautiful body God has given you? We know the worth of your soul, but your body is an important caretaker of that soul until the day it goes to heaven. So, is there something your body needs to function more effectively? Would you say you have disciplined and nurtured body as well as soul?