Be Good to Your BodySample

RETURN TO NATURE

Genesis 2:15 (ESV) says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” When God created humans, He could have put them anywhere. He could have created a city or some kind of structure. But He placed the very first human being in a garden. A garden! Not a concrete jungle with lots of sounds or a cubicle with stale coffee and fluorescent lighting, but a garden. In nature.

This single verse also highlights that God didn’t place humans in the garden to just sit around. He placed them there for a purpose: to work it and keep it. That tells me the human body was designed to move—that we’re supposed to work with our hands—and to be in nature. It reveals our need for fresh air, sunlight, and purposeful exercise.

Modern science only confirms what the Bible has told us all along. Multiple studies show us that increased outdoor exposure has a variety of health benefits, such as decreased cortisol and decreased diastolic blood pressure, as well as decreased risk of preterm birth, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular death.

One of the best things about being out in nature? It’s free. We sometimes put off prioritizing our health because we don’t want to spend money on expensive therapies or a top-shelf nontoxic product or healthy food delivery. But we need to ask ourselves, Am I even doing the free things? Am I prioritizing basic disciplines that aren’t going to bankrupt me? Things like gentle movement daily, getting more sunlight than blue light, eating breakfast and not relying on caffeine for energy, stretching, breathing deeply, cooking meals at home, spending time in nature, plugging into a community, reading instead of scrolling, and drinking enough water.

True wellness begins not with a product or a program but with a return to the garden—a return to God’s intention for how we live, move, and thrive in His creation.

Lord, thank You for the gift of Your creation, for sunlight, fresh air, and beauty that reflects Your glory. Teach me to care well for my body by walking in Your world, working with my hands, breathing deeply, and being still in Your presence. Amen.