BEING AND BECOMING
"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your
works, And that my soul knows very well." -Psalms 139:14 (NKJV)
- An Essay on Christian Health � Spiritual --Mental - Physical
Our bodies __ are priceless, uniquely designed, precious-made machines � Holy in origin. We are entrusted with a life-long lease on their use. Each of us must assume responsibility for preventive care and regular maintenance of their three main systems: physical psychological and spiritual. All of this is a doable set of challenges. But we are all forewarned that there is planned obsolescence built into two of the three systems: physical and psychological (body and mind) through the genetic code. One or more parts of the mind or body may have a tendency to falter, malfunction or fail. God has set these boundaries. If we educate ourselves to these pre-programmed potential trouble spots, we can daily practice preventative maintenance through a chosen alternative life style. For example, if there is a family medical history indicating heart attacks as the early cause of death, we can then choose to exercise, quit smoking, keep weight down, watch cholesterol, blood pressure, diet and mental attitude. With this preventative health care plan comes a major shift in responsibility for one�s own health; away from the doctor�s � band-aid approach (take two aspirin and call me tomorrow), away from the clergyman�s self-rationalizing dichotomy (do as I say � not as I do), and away from the psychiatrist�s smoke-and-mirrors; drugs with zombie-like results. (You won�t feel any better � but you won�t really care!). Remember � any kind of pain is a defense mechanism � an early alert that you are doing something wrong.
This suggested shift of responsibility is towards the original lessee who must assume the top management position expected of each of us from the beginning. We have been given the choice. We are responsible for making all the decisions. (We do not own our bodies, minds, Souls; they are leased temples � one within the other.) We have been appointed caretakers or stewards of these temples and someday all three will be required of us. We are solely responsible for what we think and say, what we believe and do, how much we allow ourselves to be influenced and the depth and expanse of our influences on others. We are observed all the time, especially by �little ones�. We are stewards of our own destiny. In short, I believe we are charged with awesome responsibilities, but nothing we can�t handle, through God�s grace. We are responsible, too, for all that we are becoming and this is an on-going process. We could think of ourselves as works-in-progress and not worn out relics, products of the past, cast-off�s in Life�s garage sale. What we do is a tangible statement about who we are. Our creator has high expectations of each of us but this is not a competition. Each has been given unique gifts to meet these life-challenges. The Lord put programmed behavior (instinct) into all the other creatures. Into each of us, he built free-will. Each of us has been given the freedom to choose. What glorious freedom! We have been given a duty to nourish the qualities within, that help us. We are free, morally responsible beings seeking God�s truth. Where growth and creativity are involved, a buoyancy is absolutely essential. We Christians call it Joy. Unlike happiness, which can be fleeting, our Joy is everlasting, on-going, secure in the awareness of our redemption. Jesus Christ has made Joy our birthright. We should spread it around! |
