1 Corinthians 6:19

 

What’s more valuable than the greatest treasure? Your health. Once lost, health can’t be bought back. Fitness is acquired by obedience. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. We’re not our own; we’re bought with a price, the death of God’s only Son.

 

We’re commanded to glorify God in the spirit and body, both of which belong to Him. (See 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.) David wrote, “I will praise You; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Your body is a carefully crafted, finely tuned machine that comes with a maintenance manual: the Word of God.

 

Since we are His temple, shouldn’t that provoke some temple maintenance? The body is a vital part of body, soul, and spirit. Romans 12:1 says to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

 

God is interested in the total person—spirit, soul, and body.

 

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Thessalonians 5:23).

 

With my spirit I have spiritual life and know the world above me.

With my soul I have psychological life and know the world around me.

With my body I have physical life and know the world beneath me.

 

When my spirit is right, I’m holy; when my soul is right, I’m happy; when my body is right, I’m healthy. There are times when we’ll be sick:

 

  • When Adam fell, the curse of sin came upon all creation. (See Romans 5:12.) Sickness and death are the result of sin.
  • Sometimes Satan afflicts us, as he did Job. Even the Apostle Paul had a “thorn in the flesh.” (See 2 Corinthians 12:7.)
  • Sometimes God must discipline us, as Psalm 119:71 acknowledged.
  • Sometimes we’ve violated God’s moral law.
  • Sometimes we’ve violated God’s natural laws.

 

If we flaunt His natural laws, practice habits we know to be wrong, ignore what makes us healthy, then hope a doctor can fix it, we’re kidding ourselves.

 

Four Principles for Family Fitness:

 

1. Be Disciplined.

 

We’re not disciples if we’re not disciplined in:

  • Diet—what we eat
  • Exercise—maintaining strength
  • Rest—getting enough sleep

 

Diet, exercise and rest are the ABCs of physical health.

 

2. Guard Your Family’s Disposition.

 

Hardening of the attitudes is just as bad as hardening of the arteries.

You can choose your thoughts like you choose your friends. Take Philippians 4:7-8 as your guide: “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

 

Don’t let the devil mess with your mind. When you have a negative thought say, “I reject it, and in faith, I praise you, Jesus.” Reject bad thoughts and choose your attitudes. To rejoice is a choice. Learn to rest in the Lord.

 

3. Involve Your Family in Devotion to God.

 

Reverence for the Lord adds years to your life. (See Proverbs 10:27.)

 

Science confirms it: people who go to church live longer, stay married, and feel happier than those who don’t. The secret is out: praising and loving God, coming to church, and fellowshipping with believers is good for family health.

 

God wants your family fit. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You are a fearfully and wonderfully made machine. You may be sick for reasons you can’t control, but there are many things you can control and should control.

 

4. Decide—Then Follow Through!

 

If you learn all of this but don’t make any decisions, it’s useless. Get your family together. In a family council ask, “What are we eating? What are we doing? What are we thinking? Will we continue to live this way, or will we make a decision as a family so we might be a testimony to everyone around us? We should be different.”

 

Serve the Lord…

  • with the body in discipline
  • with the soul in disposition
  • with the spirit in devotion

 

Make a choice like Joshua: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

 

This is not about mere physical health. God wants you saved so much that He sent His precious Son to pay for your sin with His blood on the cross. I promise you on the authority of His Word that if you will trust Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, He will forgive your sin and save you today.