It’s not that Jesus Walked on water, it’s that jesus WALKED. (Looking at health from a Religious perspective.

“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

The number one thing the life of Jesus taught us about health is to walk.

It is said that during his lifetime Jesus walked an estimated 27,525 miles (20 miles per day) Yet, we’re a society that primarily sit in our cars to and from work, sit at a desk at work, and them go home to sit on the couch, (usually while stuffing our faces with food) One word for this, LAZY! There was a study done called the ‘Dallas Bed Rest and Training Study’ conducted in 1966. They took five healthy twenty-year-olds, put them on bed rest and made them stay there for three weeks. Researchers discovered that the young people’s muscles and breathing capacity were at the levels of sixty-year-olds a mere three weeks later! How long have you remained sedentary?

“I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” 3 John 1:2

GOD WANTS US TO BE HEALTHY. Lets take a closer look at what the Bible says about health and our bodies. Even if you are not a believer in Jesus, and see him merely as a mortal prophet with good moral teachings you’d have to admit that Jesus was a pillar of good health. When you look at his time on earth, how he traveled (on foot) worked as a Carpenter (manual labor) he simply couldn’t have done all that in poor health. We know that Jesus drank wine as various biblical passages state as much, but he would have also drank water. Water is essential for a healthy body! In the day of Jesus people mostly ate a “clean” diet. Plant-based whole grains, vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts, dates, and lentils. The people during this time in general worked jobs that required manual labor and would have remained active throughout the day. I would bet that if you traveled back to Jesus’ time you wouldn’t see many overweight people. My point is that whether you are a Christian or not, you can still learn a healthy lesson from the Bible and Jesus. If you are a Christian, perhaps this will encourage you to take a look at how you treat your body from a religious viewpoint. The concept is simple, if you follow the Bible and it’s teachings and believe what’s in it, why then are you not using those teachings in regards to your own health?

If your body is a temple why are you treating it like a garbage disposal?

Our bodies can be considered machines that carry us from place to place as we carry out the work God has planned for us (Ephesians 2:10) In essence, an unhealthy body will make us slow, lethargic, prone to illness and injuries. Eating the right foods contributes to our brain function and hormonal balance, a good quality of life.

GOD WARNS AGAINST GLUTTONY. The definition of “gluttony” is “Habitual greed or excess in eating.” This is condemned in the Bible. The love of food and drink can become idols in our lives not unlike material items, money, sex etc. Here in America we have a skewed view of eating, bad habits that were passed down from generation to generation. Eat everything on your plate. That’s simply wrong! We’re a society where all you can eat buffets are coveted, and drive-thru’s encourage you to “super size” it. It’s common for us to go back for seconds, or thirds! Oh my! Not only is this gluttony in action, it simply isn’t lady like. A lady never finishes everything on her plate but that’s an etiquette subject for another time.

I recently read somewhere that in regards to weight loss as a Christian we must “take off the old self” and “put on the new self” fundamentally ‘transformation’ which I speak about all the time. It went on to say that to attain balance in our diet, we must put aside old habits and develop new ones.

If you are not happy with where your weight and health is today, it’s a by-product of the standards you’ve set for yourself and your habits.

I see this all the time. People love excuses, they love excusing themselves from what they truly know is the right thing to do. If your standard is, I’m too old, I’m too fat, my partner loves me anyway, I’ll always be overweight and your habit is being a couch potato and over eating, congratulations, you’ll always meet the standard you’ve set for yourself. Rather, if your standard is I will not allow myself to be above a size 6, I want to be the healthiest 70 year old when I reach that age. I am not too old to change, I am not too old to get up and walk, jog, exercise and take action, then congratulations, you will also always meet the standard you’ve set for yourself!

WHAT IS YOUR STANDARD? My intention is that whether you are religious or not this post will make you think about your standards, your habits, and what actions you will make to achieve greatness in your life, not only health, but in all aspects and if you need a little push, perhaps this was what you needed to jump off the cliff and discover who God truly intended you to be. I choose to believe he made us in His image and gave us immense capacity to achieve greatness.

I have experienced so much love and transformation in my journey thus far and as I researched for writing this post over the last few weeks it made me proud to know (as a Christian) that I was making good choices that are biblically based. Losing the weight I’ve lost thus far was not just the elimination of pounds and excess fat, but further, the removal of things in my past that I needed to let go of, people who have done me wrong, old jobs, low confidence, negative habits and thoughts that were dragging me down. I learned that I refuse to believe there is a glass ceiling. If there is I will just continue to raise it. I can do anything I put my mind to.

My belief is that taking responsibility for your body; keeping up a good appearance, having your hair healthy and styled, wearing a bit of makeup, wearing clothes that are tailored, appropriate for the occasion, clothes that make you look and feel confident, eating healthy, caring about your personal brand that you put out for all the world to see is CRUCIAL. And it’s your responsibility.

Keeping a good appearance is not vanity, it is a sign of self-respect.

When you show others through your outward appearance, your grooming and your healthy habits (and your body is the first thing to show those habits) you are showing the world that you respect not only yourself & your life partner, but also that you respect the person who gave you life in the first place.

Jesus lived 33 years on earth. Even if you live to 90 you are still only here for a short time. Make it worthwhile.