Our health is important to God. It's so important to Him, but many of us don't realize that. We should take care of ourselves because of so many reasons, but we seem to ignore it.
People can do all sorts of unhealthy things in their "pursuit" of God and holiness. In the end, they abuse themselves and their precious body in what they believe to be "a service to God." Ridiculous, right?
The human body is something that's sacred, something we should take good care of. This doesn't mean we won't do anything that causes stress or pain anymore, but if what we do to our bodies displeases God, then we should stop it.
That said, here are some reasons why we should take care of our health, according to the Bible.
1) It's precious to God
If we only knew how precious we are to the Lord, we'd actually straighten up and treat ourselves right. Not too much, just right. (see Romans 12:3)
The Lord Jesus Christ died to redeem us, so that God could forgive us and we could be reconciled to Him. We are that precious to God! The natural response to God's goodness to us would be giving ourselves to Him:
"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." (Romans 12:1)
2) Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit
The Bible tells us that our bodies, whether short or tall, fat or thin, dark- or fair-skinned, are temples God's Holy Spirit who lives in all who believe in Christ Jesus. Think about it.
The God of all creation has decided to make His home in everyone who believes in Christ. 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us,
"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?"
3) We are stewards of everything that God created
In Genesis, we read that God created man to "have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." In short, we are tasked with stewardship over all of creation.
We need to realize that our bodies are God's creation as well. Not just any creation, but a unique masterpiece made in His own image and likeness.
That said, we should take care of ourselves. If we prioritize our pet's health, how much more should we prioritize our health?
4) We need our bodies to do God's will on earth
Here's something that many overzealous Christians miss. The human body has its limitations, and God knows that. Psalm 103:14 tells us,
"For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust."
If you find this hard to understand, just think of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God, but at the same time He is man. He limited His ministry activities, spent substantial time alone to pray, and ate when needed. He didn't over-exert Himself. He had exercise, too, owing to the fact that He needed physical strength for His pre-ministry work as a carpenter.
The Lord does remember that our bodies are made of dust. That's why Christ was able to live the perfect, God-pleasing human life.
5) Our love for ourselves determines the love we can give to others
Lastly, we should realize that the love and care we give to ourselves will determine or at least affect the way we treat others.
Case in point: Have you ever wondered why it's difficult to love others? It's because we don't know how we should love ourselves. Jesus said, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (see Mark 12:31). It couldn't be simpler than that.
Loving ourselves, however, is a challenge. Some of us go to the far end and take extreme care of ourselves for fear of pain or rejection - ever spent more time in one day picking out your clothes or doing your hair or make-up or preening your trendy beard than you did in the Word?
Some go to the other far end and live reckless lives with no care for themselves because something feels comfortable or enjoyable - going to bed late watching movies or YouTube and waking up so late you have no time for a morning devotional? Enjoying eating out in restaurants each week with friends but then saying you don't have the money to attend that once-a-year Christian conference?
Both are wrong.
The key here is found in Luke 6:31, where Jesus said,
"And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."
What Jesus is saying here is: give your best. Give the best of yourself to the people in your life. You see, friends, we can only give what we have. If we are not in the best shape, it's going to be hard to give ourselves our best, let alone others.
In Conclusion
Friends, we should take care of our health for the Lord. I leave you with this short exhortation that, I pray, you'd put to heart.
"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord..." (see Colossians 3:23)
