What Does The Bible Say About Health?

Does the Bible say much about our health?  If so, what?

Promise of Long Life

The Ten Commandments gave the first promise of a long life as we can read in Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” and where the Apostle Paul later expounded on this by writing; “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land” (Eph 6:1-3) so obedience to God, and specifically honoring parents, comes with God’s promise “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land” (Eph 6:3). The Book of Job says “If they listen and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasantness” (John 36:11) but if there is disobedience such as not honoring our parents, then the opposite must apply and there is no guarantee from God that they will live “long in the land.”

Promise of Short Life

Most of the world ignores the Ten Commandments which are a great mystery to me since why would we want to take down the command “Thou shall not murder” from the public square or from the public schools? Isn’t this a good law to have? When school shootings happen, do the atheists say, “Wow, I’m sure we got rid of that “Thou shall not kill” command? Would we take down similar laws to protect life and property because they have a connection to God? God promises a short life if a people or nation do not honor their parents (Deut 27:16), do not ensure justice in the court systems (Deut 27:19), and become intermarried within their own family and commit adultery (Deut 27:22-23), but these curses are not just for Israel. They are for any person or nation that disobeys God and His laws, which today is the vast majority of the world, so God warns that “if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field” (Deut 28:15-16). Can anyone deny that our nation is being cursed from their disobedience to God? Eventually it will be said by God that “you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me” (Deut 28:20b).

The Temple of God

The Apostle Paul once wrote that exercise is beneficial but he was making a point but that doesn’t mean that exercise isn’t good for the body because we know it is. The Apostle Paul, in writing to Timothy, wrote that “while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1st Tim 4:8). Paul continues by asking the rhetorical question, “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body” (1st Cor 6:19-20) so “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1st Cor 10:31). Since the body is described as the temple of God because God’s Spirit is living in us, we can pollute the body by sinful practices such as adultery, since “he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh” (1st Cor 6:16) and so he asks “Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never” (1st Cor 6:15) but that’s what everyone does who commits sexual immorality.

No Excuse

Since whatever we do in life, we should do it for the glory of God; we do not glorify God in our bodies by incessant bouts of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, overeating, entertainment and violent video games. The renewed mind of Christ should have nothing to do with the lusts and desires of the world for these only lead to death (Rom 6:23) and are contrary to God’s will for our lives. We have no excuse if we don’t care for our bodies or care about our health because our bodies don’t really belong to us. God purchased use by His own Son’s precious blood and so since we’re bought and paid for, we must be accountable for how we use our bodies and minds for their not ours. God expects us to take care of the temple just as He demanded from the Levitical Priesthood who served in the temple or tabernacle in ancient Israel.

Conclusion

If we keep in mind that there should be moderation in all things, I think we’ll be okay as far as our health is concerned, but God is far more concerned with our hearts than our health. If a person has never repented and trusted in Christ then they will have more than health problems (but not to the exclusion of health problems). They will face the wrath of God because none are good (Rom 3:10-12), all of us fall infinitely short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23), and all we have earned in this life is eternal death (Rom 6:23a) but thankfully, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom6:23b).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.