Living Well for God
Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God...
Izaak Walton
Goal #5: I will develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle for the Lord. I will not obsess over my physical condition, but I will eat reasonably and exercise properly to maintain a fit temple for the Lord's service.
While my first four goals focused on building and maintaining a proper spiritual relationship with God, I didn't want to forget my stewardship in respect to the physical things. The fact is that while we are first and foremost spiritual beings with eternal souls, we cannot ignore the fact that God placed these eternal souls in physical bodies. Since this is the case, it is important to take care of ourselves.
The tricky part is in determining just how much attention God expects us to give to our physical bodies.There are some people who think of little else: Their bodies are their temples, unfortunately, they are not God's temple. When that happens, we are not exercising proper stewardship - we are turning our bodies into an idol. The other end of the spectrum is when we give no thought whatsoever to our health. There are many who drink and smoke and overeat to the point that they are in danger of artificially shortening their lives and, therefore, their time of service to God. Both extremes are sin and must be avoided.
That's why it seems important to try to determine just how much attention God expects me to give to this body that houses my soul during this life. So, I try to eat right (especially if "chocolate" is synonymous with "right") and I try to get enough exercise to keep fit. Beyond that, I really don't give my health much thought. I know that there are many other factors related to a healthy lifestyle and I try to give them the proper attention, but I also try not to obsess over them. I believe in Heaven and I trust God to give me the time He wants for me to serve on this earth. It may sound too simple, but it is the best I have been able to come up with.
I know that many have not been as blessed with good physical health such as I have enjoyed - I don't know why. But, since God has blessed my life so richly with good health, the very least that I can do is to try to be a good steward of that health and to always remember to praise Him for it.
Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
I Corinthians 4:2, NIV
