Why Should I Eat Healthy Food and Exercise?
In relation to Jesus follower’s positions about eating healthy and exercise, there seem to be a few different points of view.
1. Those who think they should not care about it because it’s not “spiritual”.
2. Those who don’t think about it at all.
3. Those who say they care about it but don’t do anything about it.
4. Those who care about it and are relatively consistent.
5. Those who are obsessive.
Lest you find yourself in any of the first three groups, we will bring scripture in to show that God cares about us taking responsibility, where possible, for our physical health.
In case you’re interested, I spent MANY years in the second group. Then a few years in the obsessive group. Now I’m in the 4th group, “Those who care about it and are relatively consistent”. I believe, from a scriptural point of view, that is where Jesus followers should be.
The Caveats
Let’s start by saying that some folks have physical limitations that affect how much or in what ways they can exercise. That’s totally understandable. But, unless you’re paralyzed from the neck down, there are forms of exercises you can do.
Also, some people deal with allergies to certain foods, even some “healthy” foods. But there are always alternatives that are healthier than much of what is known as the Standard American Diet (SAD).
Am I going to give you a recommendation for your diet? No. There are already several good, Bible-based eating plans, but I suggest not starting with an eating plan, but understanding the why behind any of them. The article How a Biblical Diet Plan Can Help You Get Healthy and Lose Weight is a great place to start.
Now, let’s get to the meat (pun intended) of this post.
You Don’t Own You
Either the enemy owns you or Jesus does. God created you, but the enemy tries to steal you away from God. If you’re a Jesus follower, then you’ve, at least partially, chosen to be owned by Jesus.
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT
God bought you with a high price. Here is the truth. None of us truly owns ourselves. We will always be subject to either God or sin. And when we fail to honor God with our bodies, then were not obeying God.
Now, you may know that the context of the above verses is referring to sexual sin…and you’d be right. But do you truly believe that in relation to your physical body God only cares about how you use, or don’t use it sexually?
No, the sexual functions of our bodies are only a small part of how we use and care for these bodies God has provided us with. Honoring God with our bodies means honoring God with our bodies in every way.
Physical Training
Now, as someone who is into fitness and discusses this topic, I’ve seen pushback from well-meaning friends using this verse.
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
-1 Timothy 4:8 NIV
It’s true that godliness has FAR more value than physical exercise. It impacts our ability to work with Jesus to bring more people into the Kingdom.
But the problem is this. When people quote this verse as a point against exercise, they’re misinterpreting it. It does not say that physical training is of no value. No, Paul says physical training (what we would call exercise) is of “some value”. It is not without value, but just less valuable than training in godliness.
However, many Jesus followers and many Christian leaders (look around a large percentage of church pulpits) put zero value on “physical training” (exercise) with the attitude that in relation to godliness, exercise does not matter. That could not be more wrong.
Ok, I’ll give you an out. If all your waking hours are 100% dedicated to “godliness” (reading the Bible, praying, fasting, serving the church, feeding the hungry, taking care of the poor, helping widows and orphans, etc.), then maybe you could justify ignoring exercise. But I know that’s almost certainly not true of you. As an aside, if you think it is, PLEASE contact me, I’d love to see your 24x7x365 godliness schedule. But my guess is you spend some time viewing TV, on social media, scrolling elsewhere on the Internet, listening to the news, watching sports, etc. That’s at least somewhat wasted time…I’m just saying.
Not a Guilt Trip
Let me next say, I’m not trying to lay a guilt trip on you. Full disclosure, I still eat ice cream and many other “unhealthy” foods on occasion, but I also eat a bunch of vegetable and exercise frequently.
Now, as to the Bible, I’ll be frank, I could quote a LOT more scriptures to support the ideas that we should eat more healthily and engage in regular exercise…but I don’t need to beat you over the head with it. If you’re not already eating in a decent way and exercising regularly, you know, deep in your heart, that it would be more honoring to God if you made some changes.
And it doesn’t have to add a bunch of time to your schedule. You could walk and listen to the Bible. You could pray while you’re running. You could turn your small group into one where you regularly work out together in some way. There are a host of exercise options that can be combined WITH training in godliness.
A Warning
As I mentioned earlier, I used to be obsessive about my eating and exercising. But that’s just as wrong as not paying any attention to them at all. When the devil was tempting Jesus, the devil offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world (a ridiculous offer since Jesus was already the King of kings) if Jesus would worship the devil. Here was the answer Jesus gave:
“Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
-Luke 4:8 NLT
Anything we put above God becomes our object of worship. When we obsess about eating or physical fitness at the expense of staying close to the Lord and doing His will, we have crossed the line into worshipping something other than God. Do not let that be your story.
To Close
Be a good steward of the body God gave you to use. In fact, taking care of your body makes you better able to do God’s will. More energy, greater mobility, increased strength, and less likelihood for many diseases all benefit your ability to love God and love other people.
Let me ask you one more favor, and it’s a favor to you and your loved ones, not to me. Don’t look at this post as another “I guess I have to get in shape” expectation. But rather ask yourself this, “How would a person who truly loves God care for the body He so carefully created for them?” Once you have the answer do that, consistently
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
-Psalm 139:14 NIV
Let’s obey the Lord and praise Him by doing our part to keep ourselves wonderfully made.
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Love you Jesus follower!