FIRSTنموونە

Phys Ed

By Thomas Miller

For God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:20 (NLT)

God calls us to be good stewards over every aspect of our lives. One often overlooked area is our physical bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NLT) says, “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.” It’s important to see your body as a temple — a sanctuary — for God’s presence to dwell. Are you being diligent in taking care of His sanctuary?

There are many ways we can become better stewards of our bodies:

Eat right. What are you eating? Too much? Not enough? If so, are you eating enough of the right types of food? Because so many diets are on the market now, finding answers to these questions can be perplexing. One of the easiest ways to eat right is by simply listening to your body. How do you feel after you eat? Are you too full? Do you feel sick? Let your body be your gauge.

Exercise. Do you have a physically active lifestyle? How often do you exercise? Do you have a hobby that involves a healthy level of physical activity? Incorporating physical activity into your life is very important. The Bible even tells us that “physical training is good” (1 Timothy 4:8, NLT). Not only does it help strengthen your heart and burn fat, but exercise builds energy levels while diminishing emotional stress. As you exercise, your endorphin levels rise, thus giving you a greater sense of calm and relaxation in your life. When I exercise regularly, I’m better able to handle stressful situations.

Simplify. We often long for days of simpler times — the good ol’ days when we had time to enjoy the small things in life. The truth is the good ol’ days can be here again. We can’t just wait for these days to come; we must proactively simplify our lives. Are you giving yourself enough downtime? Have you built margins into your life? Or are your day-to-day work and activities so consuming that you don’t have time to enjoy life? You are the manager of your life, your very own CEO. How does God want you to manage your personal life? Are you driving yourself to the point of exhaustion, or do you allow yourself time to rest and reflect? Stress is an often-overlooked enemy to our physical health. It’s a major cause of heart disease, stroke, and other physical ailments. I can’t overstate just how much stress affects your physical health. Here are some simple steps:

Build margins into your day-to-day schedule by making sure to schedule times of rest and reflection.

• Take a Sabbath day once a week. This will recharge you, give you some much-needed downtime, and get you ready for the week ahead. God made the Sabbath for you (Mark 2:27).
• Get enough sleep. Most people need around eight hours of sleep a night to function properly throughout the day. Make sure you go to bed early enough to get the sleep you need. Stress becomes more amplified when you don’t get enough sleep.
• Take your stress to God. When stressful times come, look to God for help. David said it best when he said, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God!” (Psalm 42:5–6, NIV).
• Live a life of purity. The most important key to managing your body is living a life of purity. Your thoughts, how you view others, and how you live out your life are all important factors to living this life of purity. Paul says that “no other sin so clearly affects the body as [sexual sin]. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18, NLT). Submit your thoughts, your desires, and your actions to the Lord. Pray for purity in the deepest parts of your life.

God has given us His Spirit to live in us (John 14:17). Our bodies are His temple, and we’re called to be diligent in stewarding our bodies for His glory. May He receive greater honor in our lives as we continue to build a temple in which His glory can dwell.

The book of Genesis reveals that man was created in the image and likeness of God. Our bodies are visible reminders of God’s glory.

~ Bethany Torode

Memory Verse

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. Luke 16:10 (NIV)