A healthy faith lends to a healthy self-image

The Rev. Jeff Barclay, pastor, Christ Community Church, 1100 Kasold Drive:

Without question the two are related. Ninety-nine percent of doctors in the American Academy of Family Physicians say religious beliefs speed the healing process.

Psalm 119:93, “I will never forget your commandments, for you have used them to restore my joy and health,” and Proverbs 23:7, “As a man thinks in his heart so he will be …,” offer biblical appraisals of a healthy faith’s relationship to healthy living.

The Christian faith is all-encompassing. The Apostle Paul addresses God’s wish for the “blameless maintenance” of one’s body, soul and spirit (I Thessalonians 5:23).

A healthy faith tends toward a healthy self-image. When one feels good about his or her self it lends to better bodily health practices: wiser eating, rest and physical activity. “The Biggest Loser” television program dramatically demonstrates how negative “self-talk” must be reversed before progress toward a healthier body will be successful.

I also have a caution. Many have unhealthy views of health. A ripped, tanned body does not always indicate a healthy faith. Consider the lives of those on covers of People magazine. Humans are born to die. We can jog, lift, Jazzercise and nip and tuck all we want, but eventually our bodies wear out. Yet, for Christians, death is not the end of the road. This is why idolatry of bodily health represents a misplaced faith.

Short-sighted I grew up singing “La, la, la, la, live for today …” I have friends crippled by injury and disease unable to exercise. I Timothy 4:8 says bodily exercise has value, but godliness has value for all things. One of those friends, born with spina bifida, died last year. She had never walked, except in dreams as she slept. But she always had a healthy faith. Today she is healthy — spiritually and physically!

— Jeff Barclay can be reached at jeff@1inchrist.org.

Being good stewards of our health helps our faith

The Rev. Nate Rovenstine, pastor, Lawrence Wesleyan Church, 3705 Clinton Parkway:

The Bible says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” With this definition of faith, it is tempting to see no connection between the condition of our faith and the condition of our body. If faith deals with the unseen, how does the condition of our body impact it? However, concerning Christ followers, the Bible also says, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you?”

Many people have less than ideal health, but very strong faith. Conversely, for some, good health has become an idol. However, if health is seen as issue of stewardship, then it can bolster our faith.

Seeing health as a stewardship issue is to recognize that our bodies are a gift from God, intended to be renewed and redeemed. Though we can’t control all outcomes, we have a responsibility to steward this gift in a way that honors the presence of the divine that inhabits those who have chosen to follow Christ. Being good stewards of our health enables us to be more active in pursuing our faith.

About 6 years ago, I realized that I wasn’t living a healthy lifestyle. In an attempt to address this, I began to run. Since then, I am more in tune with the sense of God’s presence in my life. Exercise has given me a way to deal with stress. It has also given me time to contemplate God’s presence in my life. By being a better steward of the body God gave me, my faith has grown. When kept in proper balance, a healthy body and a healthy faith go hand in hand.

— Send e-mail to Nate Rovenstine at jnrovenstine@juno.com.