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How To Survive THRIVE - Physically

Day 3: Be Healthy

 

I was a very big child.  I started young.  I came out of the womb eating and I haven’t stopped in 64 years!  My mother tells me that when I was 3 months old I weighed 30 lbs! (13.6kg)  When I was in grade school my pants were called “Husky”.  Needless to say, it didn’t do much for my self image.  It did however make me very recruitable for the football team (American type, not soccer).  

So my whole life I have worked at keeping my weight in check.  I’ve joked with people that I have been on every diet imaginable.  I’ve banted, fasted and detoxed.  I’ve been on grapefruit diets, low-carbs, high-fat diets and low-fat, high-carbs diets.  I’ve done it all.  Most of my life I have had some kind of exercise routine in conjunction with my many diets.  But after many years I have come to the conclusion that being skinny is not the goal - being healthy is the goal.  I remember very clearly when the shift came.  It was at the time that my first grandchild was born.  Suddenly I wanted to live as long as I could and so the goal shifted to a healthy lifestyle.  

What I have learnt about myself is that my discipline in healthy living and my spiritual disciplines seem to be somehow connected.  If my health discipline is bad my spiritual discipline seems to follow and vice versa.  

I love the image in scripture that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  And when you add that to the idea that Paul puts forth around presenting our bodies as sacrifices, and that it is an act of worship - I am inspired to keep my body healthy.   When I strap on my shoes at 6am, I realise that this is more than just a run.  This is an act of worship!  

Here are a few questions you can use to unpack this idea...

Can I encourage you to consider your exercise routine?  Exercise is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle.  Take the stairs instead of the escalator.  Go for a walk or a run.  

Can you see your health routine as an act of worship?  If not, make it that.  Listen to some music or a podcast.  Use the time to focus your mind on God.

Can I encourage you to at least take note of what you put in your body?  Cut back on processed sugar and carbohydrates and I’ll bet you that even that little bit will make a difference.  

Remember that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Treat it well!

Written by Skip Collins | uMhlanga Campus Pastor