I have heard that ” You are responsible for your own health.” It is not your spouse, not your doctor, not other peoples responsibility. It is your responsibility.
I felt that taking care of our bodies, our health, is one of the least topic that Christians engaged in. Or maybe not too may lessons are being shared about it.
Christians mainly focus on spiritual things, on our souls and not the body. I think because it is not the physical body that goes to heaven.
But for me, being healthy is spiritual too, its a form of worship. How you take care of your body, your health and being mindful of what you put inside you is a way of honoring God.
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
According to this verse, our bodies are temple of the Holy Spirit. WE are entrusted with one body. And how we use it or abuse it, we are accountable for it.
We have to honor God with our body, how we use it. God uses us while we are still here on earth for His glory. But how can God use us, how can we serve God if our bodies are weak, if we are in pain, if we are in ill?
I have learned three things on how we can take care of our bodies.
- Eat and Drink proper food. Feed our body with good food. Good food, not just any food. Its not a secret anymore, experts are saying that certain kinds of foods or drinks are not good for body. Know what the proper food to feed our body. Not all food that taste good is good for our body and health. In other words, avoid foods that are killing us bit by bit. We are free to eat whatever we wanna eat, we can buy whatever food we want to buy. But still be mindful of how food that we put in our bodies will affect our health.
- Rest enough. Have time to relax. Not all seven days are for you to work. Not all 24 hours is for your body to work and work. Our bodies not to relax, to recharge. Our bodies need enough sleep to function properly. I’ve noticed that when I don’t have enough sleep, my brain works differently. My emotions and attitude is different too, I am confused and a bit irritable. And sometimes, I don’t want to do chores at home. My body is too lazy to move, its giving me signal that I need more sleep, I need to rest so I can focus and perform better. Even in our daily lives, sometimes we are too focus on our goal, that we forgot to take a break. We use up all our energy on our work, and we keep on working and working, and work even on our day offs. But taking a break, a vacation, a walk to the park or just sitting on a bench is not a sin. Give yourself a break, a time to relax, unwind, refresh and recharge your body.
- Move your body. Nowadays, most people are just sitting in front of the computer or TV or whatever gadget that is around with less movement. Especially on this covid pandemic, we are not socializing more with friends. Most times are spent indoors. And even during winter season, our bodies have less movement. But we need to move, to exercise. Got our blood flowing and our mind alert and working. Give ourselves time to exercise or workout even inside our homes. We can tune in online to join some people who exercise. Or we can buy some exercise equipment that can help our body move.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
Remember: Take care of your body, God’s spirit lives in you.
Let’s have healthy choices in the food that we eat and in what we drink. Give our bodies enough rest and do more exercise. In that way, our bodies will be fit and healthy to serve God and others.
BE RESPONSIBLE!
