Health Is Your Greatest Detriment
Thoughts On Our Physical Priorities
I recently have had, or overheard, more than a couple conversations about our health. Obviously, it is not absent in our era, much less in this nation. Health, as I heard on a "Christian" radio broadcast, is our "greatest wealth. If you lose your health, you lose everything." I have found that, in our day and age, there truly isn't any greater treasure on this earth than one's physical well-being. It is by one's physical appearance and upkeep that one is judged, and it is basic first impressions that judge whether or not someone will take the time to converse with you. I have found that many feel this is mostly seen in, say, high school settings, in which the popular children dictate what style is the new trend. The unpopular child will never receive attention unless they follow the trend set by the social "higher ups." However, as I have found, this is by no means the norm, but rather, something a far more serious nature. Especially in "Christian" circles...
Though you'll often hear it over the radio and on TV, the need to be healthy is heard mostly in churches and Christian groups, whether corporate or common. I have gotten the impression more often as of late that I am a "lesser being" because of my lack of a certain diet, or because of the food I choose to eat. It isn't that they treat you as a heathen (though this is the case in some circles), but they do treat you as more ignorant and foolish-minded. Dare you ever bring up the subject of your McDonald's lunch, and you will receive one of two things: A light chuckle, seeing as how we all know McDonald's will probably kill you, is an evil company, and is generally not trustworthy in food or politics, and then the subject of food will go away, or a long explanation of how McDonald's hamburgers are only 15 % beef, their handling of the food is horrible, and there is nothing good for you in their food. I recently had someone directly accuse me of being practically ungodly, both in my "support" of an evil company, and in the general neglect of my body. The ending of this conversation was not pleasant, but more condemning than anything. And I could not help but feel as I have before- that my diet directly influenced how someone perceived my lifestyle and mindset. And thus is the inspiration for this post.
What I mean to say is this: there is simply too much focus and care put into one's health. I do not mean exclusively your physical health, but also your psychological health. Indeed, the health of one's ego is perhaps the most important thing in the whole of your life, second only to your physical health. If you have poor self-esteem, you are committing an almost unpardonable sin! Many could accuse me of overreacting, but turn on any "Christian" radio station, and the physical and psychological health will, without any doubt, come up rather quickly.
One of the things that bothered me recently was on a radio broadcast I heard while driving. During the program, which at the time had three hosts on the air, a woman called in with a question. She explained her long history, going on and on about all the abuse she had in her past, the difficulty with parents and adopted parents, relatives and the like. And her question was simple: "What can I do to find peace in the remainder of my life?" Her testimony was of course by no means perfect, being filled with a sort of "I feel so bad for myself" mindset and tone. But this is typical and expected for those in the world, who know no better than to worship self and separate from any roadblock to personal success. The answer she received, however, was something that, though I sort of expected, did not hope to hear. "Well, let us get you a copy of my book," said one of the hosts. "You sound like a perfect candidate." This alone was enough to make me frustrated, in that the answer to her question was not found in the Bible, or in Christ, or even self-denial, but in a book written by one of the hosts. Oh, but the host went on. "You need to stop looking for what you feel you need in your mother. What you expect of her she doesn't have the capacity to give you. You need to come to grips with that fact, grieve over it, and let it go, otherwise you'll always be searching for it in your mother who cannot give it to you." I am not exactly sure what this lady was looking for in her mother, but no matter the case, this answer was, though practically correct, not biblical at all. Not in light of the context of the situation. Based upon the host's answer, this woman was going to find the best answer in the host's book, not the Bible. This woman would have to stop searching for the peace she sought in her mother, and (as a direct result) ought to search elsewhere. The co-host then re enforced this by quoting from Ecclesiastes, telling the woman that "There is a time to search, and a stop to stop searching." Thus, she needed to stop searching for what she wanted in her mother.
The issue I have with this is not the mother, the caller, the book or the advice. It is the lack of Scripture. "Well," one may say, "we don't always have to give out Scripture for every problem there is." Even if this statement was true, certainly this question ("How do I find peace?") deserves a biblical answer. Because the Scripture is not vague or confusing on where true peace is found. The hosts of a "Christian" program essentially told the lady to stop looking for peace in her mother, and find it somewhere else. Where? Well, they never seemed to get to that in the time I listened.
What does this have to do with today's emphasis on health? The answer given by the host was based primarily in the latest "Christian" fads, which have very little to do with God's Word (though it may be referenced often), and mostly have to do with a form of Christian psychology. That is, the mental, physical and emotional causes of various issues, not the spiritual and sinful side of things, since those are too demanding or specific. Rather, the focus of Christianity today is to get down to the easily accepted, non-convicting facts of the visible causes of sin. Never blaming someone for sinning, but only explaining how sin comes about in a physical sense (and thus how to deal with sin by being eating better, exercising more, and avoiding any "negative influences"). The church today would rather excuse sin (lies, suicide, homosexuality, etc.) on the basis of one's mental state, never one's state before God. Sin has very little to do with the sin in the world today. When someone kills themselves, "depression" and "mental disabilities" are blamed, not one's arrogance or lack of any true hope in Christ. Sin and evil are a separate entity, being utterly out of the creative hand of God, since He of course could never make sin.
The church today sees sin rather as a self-demeaning issue. It degrades one's view of themselves, and causes pain and doubt because our self-image has been hurt. Therefore, the cure is to heal the self-image. This is why Christ died, after all- to make sure we know how much HE loves us, so we can love ourselves better. But this is by no stretch of the imagination the Truth found in Scripture.
The reality found in Scripture is that sin came first, not physical or mental inconsistencies. It is not because we fail to eat healthy, work out, or build our self-esteem that we sin. It is because we are sinful from birth to death innately. We transgress God's Law, not our deserved arrogance or health.
Though much more could be said on this subject, I want to leave it at this: If someone asks how to find peace in this life, they must first learn what is the true reality- that there cannot be peace found in this earth. The whole of the earth, including ourselves, is filled with sin. Our inability to keep God's requirements is unavoidable, and there is nothing we can do. Thus comes the joy in finding that Christ, who is God, kept it for us. God is perfect, we are not, and only God Himself could satisfy His requirements. And He did not merely leave it at that, but completed the requirements in ways we could never imagine. He lives forevermore as our Mediator, but more importantly, He is the core focus of our lives. If our health, whether mental or physical, becomes the focus of our lives, then we are following after that which leads to nowhere. No one can change the day of his birth or death. They are out of our control. But our focus can change- our hearts and motives and goals. And the only steady place to put them is in God, not ourselves. Our health will fail. We can try to avoid the inevitable, but the fact remains that we are going to die. And if we remain Christian, whether or not we eat healthy, outside abuse from others will come. If you eat healthy and excercise, do so for the Lord. If you do not do these, dedicate your time to serving the Lord elsewhere. But never judge someone on such things, because that is judging another One's servant.
I recently have had, or overheard, more than a couple conversations about our health. Obviously, it is not absent in our era, much less in this nation. Health, as I heard on a "Christian" radio broadcast, is our "greatest wealth. If you lose your health, you lose everything." I have found that, in our day and age, there truly isn't any greater treasure on this earth than one's physical well-being. It is by one's physical appearance and upkeep that one is judged, and it is basic first impressions that judge whether or not someone will take the time to converse with you. I have found that many feel this is mostly seen in, say, high school settings, in which the popular children dictate what style is the new trend. The unpopular child will never receive attention unless they follow the trend set by the social "higher ups." However, as I have found, this is by no means the norm, but rather, something a far more serious nature. Especially in "Christian" circles...
Though you'll often hear it over the radio and on TV, the need to be healthy is heard mostly in churches and Christian groups, whether corporate or common. I have gotten the impression more often as of late that I am a "lesser being" because of my lack of a certain diet, or because of the food I choose to eat. It isn't that they treat you as a heathen (though this is the case in some circles), but they do treat you as more ignorant and foolish-minded. Dare you ever bring up the subject of your McDonald's lunch, and you will receive one of two things: A light chuckle, seeing as how we all know McDonald's will probably kill you, is an evil company, and is generally not trustworthy in food or politics, and then the subject of food will go away, or a long explanation of how McDonald's hamburgers are only 15 % beef, their handling of the food is horrible, and there is nothing good for you in their food. I recently had someone directly accuse me of being practically ungodly, both in my "support" of an evil company, and in the general neglect of my body. The ending of this conversation was not pleasant, but more condemning than anything. And I could not help but feel as I have before- that my diet directly influenced how someone perceived my lifestyle and mindset. And thus is the inspiration for this post.
What I mean to say is this: there is simply too much focus and care put into one's health. I do not mean exclusively your physical health, but also your psychological health. Indeed, the health of one's ego is perhaps the most important thing in the whole of your life, second only to your physical health. If you have poor self-esteem, you are committing an almost unpardonable sin! Many could accuse me of overreacting, but turn on any "Christian" radio station, and the physical and psychological health will, without any doubt, come up rather quickly.
One of the things that bothered me recently was on a radio broadcast I heard while driving. During the program, which at the time had three hosts on the air, a woman called in with a question. She explained her long history, going on and on about all the abuse she had in her past, the difficulty with parents and adopted parents, relatives and the like. And her question was simple: "What can I do to find peace in the remainder of my life?" Her testimony was of course by no means perfect, being filled with a sort of "I feel so bad for myself" mindset and tone. But this is typical and expected for those in the world, who know no better than to worship self and separate from any roadblock to personal success. The answer she received, however, was something that, though I sort of expected, did not hope to hear. "Well, let us get you a copy of my book," said one of the hosts. "You sound like a perfect candidate." This alone was enough to make me frustrated, in that the answer to her question was not found in the Bible, or in Christ, or even self-denial, but in a book written by one of the hosts. Oh, but the host went on. "You need to stop looking for what you feel you need in your mother. What you expect of her she doesn't have the capacity to give you. You need to come to grips with that fact, grieve over it, and let it go, otherwise you'll always be searching for it in your mother who cannot give it to you." I am not exactly sure what this lady was looking for in her mother, but no matter the case, this answer was, though practically correct, not biblical at all. Not in light of the context of the situation. Based upon the host's answer, this woman was going to find the best answer in the host's book, not the Bible. This woman would have to stop searching for the peace she sought in her mother, and (as a direct result) ought to search elsewhere. The co-host then re enforced this by quoting from Ecclesiastes, telling the woman that "There is a time to search, and a stop to stop searching." Thus, she needed to stop searching for what she wanted in her mother.
The issue I have with this is not the mother, the caller, the book or the advice. It is the lack of Scripture. "Well," one may say, "we don't always have to give out Scripture for every problem there is." Even if this statement was true, certainly this question ("How do I find peace?") deserves a biblical answer. Because the Scripture is not vague or confusing on where true peace is found. The hosts of a "Christian" program essentially told the lady to stop looking for peace in her mother, and find it somewhere else. Where? Well, they never seemed to get to that in the time I listened.
What does this have to do with today's emphasis on health? The answer given by the host was based primarily in the latest "Christian" fads, which have very little to do with God's Word (though it may be referenced often), and mostly have to do with a form of Christian psychology. That is, the mental, physical and emotional causes of various issues, not the spiritual and sinful side of things, since those are too demanding or specific. Rather, the focus of Christianity today is to get down to the easily accepted, non-convicting facts of the visible causes of sin. Never blaming someone for sinning, but only explaining how sin comes about in a physical sense (and thus how to deal with sin by being eating better, exercising more, and avoiding any "negative influences"). The church today would rather excuse sin (lies, suicide, homosexuality, etc.) on the basis of one's mental state, never one's state before God. Sin has very little to do with the sin in the world today. When someone kills themselves, "depression" and "mental disabilities" are blamed, not one's arrogance or lack of any true hope in Christ. Sin and evil are a separate entity, being utterly out of the creative hand of God, since He of course could never make sin.
The church today sees sin rather as a self-demeaning issue. It degrades one's view of themselves, and causes pain and doubt because our self-image has been hurt. Therefore, the cure is to heal the self-image. This is why Christ died, after all- to make sure we know how much HE loves us, so we can love ourselves better. But this is by no stretch of the imagination the Truth found in Scripture.
The reality found in Scripture is that sin came first, not physical or mental inconsistencies. It is not because we fail to eat healthy, work out, or build our self-esteem that we sin. It is because we are sinful from birth to death innately. We transgress God's Law, not our deserved arrogance or health.
Though much more could be said on this subject, I want to leave it at this: If someone asks how to find peace in this life, they must first learn what is the true reality- that there cannot be peace found in this earth. The whole of the earth, including ourselves, is filled with sin. Our inability to keep God's requirements is unavoidable, and there is nothing we can do. Thus comes the joy in finding that Christ, who is God, kept it for us. God is perfect, we are not, and only God Himself could satisfy His requirements. And He did not merely leave it at that, but completed the requirements in ways we could never imagine. He lives forevermore as our Mediator, but more importantly, He is the core focus of our lives. If our health, whether mental or physical, becomes the focus of our lives, then we are following after that which leads to nowhere. No one can change the day of his birth or death. They are out of our control. But our focus can change- our hearts and motives and goals. And the only steady place to put them is in God, not ourselves. Our health will fail. We can try to avoid the inevitable, but the fact remains that we are going to die. And if we remain Christian, whether or not we eat healthy, outside abuse from others will come. If you eat healthy and excercise, do so for the Lord. If you do not do these, dedicate your time to serving the Lord elsewhere. But never judge someone on such things, because that is judging another One's servant.
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