Does health affect our spirituality?

The human body is a wonderful living machine that has many functionalities and laws; and God wants us to become well acquainted with our body and obey all its laws so that our brains will be strong and our intellect clear and penetrating to comprehend His word as well as to do the work He has given us to do.

“Christians, above all others, should be awake to this important subject, and should become intelligent in regard to their own organism. If we would be able to comprehend the truths of God’s word, and the object and purpose of our living, we must know ourselves, and understand how to relate ourselves rightly to life and to health.” – RH September 12 1871, par. 1.

The Lord says to each of us, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1-2 KJV. In this month’s issue of the The Healthy Christian we will discuss why it is important to maintain sound physical health in order to prove or understand the perfect will of God.

Let us take a further look at Romans 12:1-2, and retrace our steps from effect-to-cause. We see that in order to prove or understand the perfect will of God, we must have a renewed mind; and to have a renewed mind we must have a body that is acceptable to God. In other words, proving the perfect will of God requires an intellectual strength, and the intellect depends on sound physical health. — “In order to arouse the moral sensibilities of your children to the claims that God has upon them, you should imprint upon their minds and hearts how to obey the laws of God in their physical frames; for health has a great deal to do with their intellect and morals.” — Child Guidance 187.2.

“You need clear, energetic minds, in order to appreciate the exalted character of the truth, to value the atonement, and to place the right estimate upon eternal things.” — Counsels on Health, 566.4. As we understand that we must have a renewed mind that is fresh and energetic to comprehend and appreciate God’s word, the Bible tells us that we are not to be conformed to the health destroying habits and practices of the world. “We have no right to wantonly violate a single principle of the laws of health. Christians should not follow the customs and practices of the world.” — Counsels on Health 49.3.

The world consumes flesh foods and other stimulants — Christians cannot conform to such a diet. The world has the habit of eating three heavy meals each day and the heaviest meal at night time — let us not conform to this way of eating. The world has the habit of keeping late nights — we cannot conform to this practice. The world has the habit of improperly covering the limbs — we cannot conform to this fashion because it hinders blood circulation. “The mass of the inhabitants of the world, by their disregard of physical law, are destroying their power of self-control and unfitting themselves to appreciate eternal realities.” — Child Guidance, 104.2.

The Lord has given strong messages of warning in His word that we are not to allow alcohol into our body, either by drinking it or by causing food to decompose in our gut. Alcohol hinders our ability to differentiate between holy and unholy or good and bad. “Do not drink wine nor strong drink,”…”that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; Leviticus 10:9-10 KJV.

Solomon asked God for an understanding heart in order to discern between good and bad when he judged the people, and Solomon counsels us that strong drink is not to be our portion. “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad:”1 Kings 3:9 KJV. “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:” Proverbs 31:4 KJV. The world consumes much alcohol, hence there is widespread moral decay and very little appreciation for the sobering truths of God’s word.

God tells us that the heathen world is not able to discern what is good or bad. In fact, it is as if they cannot put difference between their right hand or left hand as it pertains to matters of morality, but He longs to spare them. “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand;” Jonah 4:11 KJV.

Nineveh was a heathen nation, and if we study the diet of all heathen nations we will find that fermented foods and alcohol are widely used as a part of their culture. Satan seeks to dwarf the intellect of our brethren from generation to generation so that they cannot discern the supreme foolishness in bowing down to graven images.

As Christians, we are to have our senses exercised to discern good and evil, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5:14 KJV. Our senses, which are the brain neurons, must be strong and penetrating to appreciate the deep truths of God’s word or the strong meat. In order for the Holy Spirit to impress the truth on our minds we must have intellectual strength, which will increase as we get nearer to the Lord’s appearing and are being sanctified by the truth.

It is through the laws of health that God is cleaving His people out of the world, and those that conform their ways and habits to His word are His peculiar people, it is not the mass of professors who make no change to their lives. “Our habits of eating and drinking show whether we are of the world or among the number whom the Lord by His mighty cleaver of truth has separated from the world. These are His peculiar people, zealous of good works.” — Counsels on Diet and Foods 379.2.

“Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and to hearken unto His voice: “And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all His commandments;” Deuteronomy 26:17-18 KJV.

God’s peculiar people are not conformed to the habits and practices of this world, for they must have a higher intellectual discernment that they may prove the perfect will of God and escape the corruptions in this world. “God has permitted the light of health reform to shine upon us in these last days, that by walking in the light we may escape many of the dangers to which we shall be exposed.” — Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene 75.1.

Through the prophet Malachi, the Lord tells us that before the dreadful day of the Lord, we are to remember His statutes which He gave to His servant Moses; and we learnt in Vol 1 No. 6 that these statues are the Laws of Health. “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;” “But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings;” “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.” Malachi 4:1-2,4 KJV.

As we get nearer to the Lord’s appearing and we are being sanctified, let us not consider the Laws of Health as a matter of secondary importance but of primary importance. Let us become Christians more in practice than in speech — by conforming all our daily habits to God’s word. We can all eat and drink according to the laws of our stomach — there is no shame in that. We sleep before 9 pm and rise early so that our minds can get adequate rest.

We can also maintain a daily exercise program and try to keep our system well hydrated. These habits are not to be looked at as a heavy drudgery, but spirituality in practical demonstration. Spirituality means more than what we have been taught, a spiritual person is very healthy in body for he has a temple that the Holy Sprit dwells within. God bless you.

Does health affect our spirituality?