The Believer’s Freedom
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 1 Corinthians 10:23
There are many reasons that motivate us to seek improvements in our lifestyle choices and to be healthy. To be successful, however, we must seek motivation at the deepest level. At the very core, success can only be insured when it is centered on God’s desire for us to be healthy, and not just our own.
How can we be motivated by God’s desire for our health?
The Christian Post offers the following:
- By taking care of our body, we are taking care of His temple.
- Our respect for our body glorifies God and is a form of worship.
- We are being a good witness to others that may struggle with poor health decisions.
- We will have more energy – be better equipped to serve God and for what He has planned for us.
Our Body is God’s Temple and for Us to Care For
One scripture that reminds us that our body is God’s temple is 1 Corinthians 19-20. God’s Holy Spirit lives inside a believer. After we accept Jesus into heart, God gives us His Spirit to help us live the kind of life He wants us to live. Since God actually lives in us, Paul tells us in this verse that our body is His temple. Since God “bought” us with a high price, Jesus’ death, then we are obligated to care for our body which is His temple.
It Glorifies God
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that whatever we do we’re to do it to the glory of God. It also tells us in Isaiah that we were created and formed by God to glorify Him. This is our primary purpose in life – to glorify God. We do that when we care for our body and live a healthy lifestyle.
Being Healthy is Being a Good Witness
Acts 1:8 reminds us that we are to be witnesses for other people. People look for us to be models of the Christian faith. We ought to desire to live our lives in a way that represents our faith well. Taking care of our health is one way that we can be a good witness.
You’ll Have More Energy to Do God’s Work
Ephesians 2:10 helps us see that we are God’s masterpiece, created to do the good things that He had planned a long time ago for us to do. We all know that the more fit and healthy we are the more energy we will have. The more energy that we have, the more we can put into whatever task we are doing. We’ll also be better able to sustain ourselves for the long haul.
How well are you taking care of yourself and your health?
If your relationship with God is important to you, and you’re not taking good care of your body, take time to reevaluate. The Bible is filled with powerful affirmations to motivate and sustain us along our journey to health. You don’t need to do it alone.
Powerful affirmations to sustain our motivation towards good health:
I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
God is my refuge and strength …. always ready to help me in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1
God gives me strength when I am weary and increases my power when I am weak. Isaiah 40:29
He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers yeah strength to the weak. Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will fall give up. But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:29-31
