Trust & Obey

If you hop on your phone and scroll through Instagram or TikTok, you might notice there is a strong influx of people talking about healthy eating, exercising, and being more health-conscious. Whether it’s a video about the endocrine disruptors found in perfumes or a post about clean products you can find at Dollar Tree, Gen Z and Millennials are tackling it all and are working towards mindfulness about what’s being put into our bodies.

It is important to want to eat better and live healthier– I am working towards it every day with consistent exercising, eating better, and cutting out processed sugar! However, as Christians, where is the line drawn between taking care of our bodies and obsessing over elements that are out of our control? When do we stop working towards balance and begin to get out of whack?

As Christians, we have to keep a few things in mind when we begin to focus on our health: first, stewarding our bodies is a good thing that we are called to do. Second, we are not in control of our future. Finally, we know the one who is in control, and we can surrender our lives to Him. If we can keep these things in balance, we can be the healthiest we have ever been physically and spiritually. We don’t just want to be healthy in one area; we want to be well-rounded people.

It is important that we take care of our bodies. God created us, and when He did, He said we are “very good” (Genesis 1:31). He made us in His image, and we bring Him delight (Zephaniah 3:17). We want to honor God with our bodies, and one way we can do that is by being mindful of what is being put into our bodies.

What are we putting into our bodies? Is it 10 dinosaur chicken nuggets or grilled chicken with rice? Are we drinking a Starbucks latte every day? It’s important to be aware of what we are doing with the body we have because God says that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). He made us all for a purpose, and we want to be able to carry out that purpose well. For me, that has meant working out so that I have the energy I need each day. It has also meant going to bed at a better time so that I can be more productive. Instead of messing around until 1 a.m., now I am in bed by 11 p.m. reading my Agatha Christie novel. I wake up by 8 a.m. feeling rested and ready for my day, instead of exhausted and behind.

Beyond physical health, we also need to be aware of what we are putting into our bodies spiritually. In 1 Corinthians 6:18, Paul tells us to “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (English Standard Version). If we are watching material that is overtly sexual or listening to music that glorifies perversion, can we say we are taking care of our bodies? We may be at the gym every day, but we are corroding ourselves with sexual sin. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:27-32, if our eye causes us to stumble we need to get rid of it. If we are watching something that is causing us to sin, it will destroy our soul. We may look good externally, but our souls are becoming frail. Paul finishes up by asking, “[D]o 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, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (v. 19-20). It is so beautiful to think about how our bodies are temples of the Spirit. We hold within us the Spirit of God, like the Temple of Jerusalem or Mount Sinai in Exodus, so naturally we should care about what we are doing with our bodies. A temple would not be left in shambles or broken, but should be taken care of and have frequent maintenance to honor it. We should do the same with our bodies.

I think many of us can admit we have struggled with sexual sin in some way or another, and it’s very easy to become numb to it. I struggled for a long time with listening to perverse music and eventually, I didn’t notice it anymore. It’s easy to start saying to yourself that it’s about the beat or you have heard worse! Just because there is worse, doesn’t make explicit music okay. If we believe our bodies are temples, then we should be washing them with words that are glorifying to God and bring Him honor, not media that we would be embarrassed if Jesus heard or saw. God has given us our bodies to care for and honor, and the best way we can honor them is to care for them spiritually as well as physically.

Thinking about our future is incredibly uncomfy. No one likes to think about when they get old or when they will die, but with the crunchy movement comes those thoughts. It seems like every skincare product, snack, and cleaning product is going to contribute to cancer, and we are trying to find alternatives to lessen the chance of cancer. The worst is when you think you have done a pretty good job finding alternatives, cooking healthy, etc., and then you find out that one of the things you use daily has a potential carcinogen, and you’ve used it for years! This fear washes over you and you think: Oh crap. I’ve had this product forever. What do I do now?

This is where we must learn (and relearn) the truth that we are not in control of anything. We can work towards the right goals and have good intentions, but that doesn’t mean we get to ultimately control our outcome. We see this frequently when we have everything planned out for a seamless day, and then our car won’t start or we receive an unexpected call that makes us 15 minutes late to a meeting. We can appear in control but that doesn’t make us actually in control. Proverbs astutely points this out in chapter 19: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (v. 21, ESV). We can do everything the “right” way, or the “wise” way, but that does not mean everything will go our way.

Thankfully, everything does go God’s way. While you may roll your eyes at that point, it still remains true. God is in control of our futures, and He has a good plan for it all (Romans 8:28, Genesis 50:20). We can do our best with our health, our lifestyle, and everything else, but ultimately it is all in God’s hands what happens to us today, tomorrow, and forever. Learning to strive towards the best while also surrendering is crucial for us to live a life that is not controlled by fear, but is lived peacefully while walking with Christ. Elisabeth Elliot so keenly points out: “Today is mine. Tomorrow is none of my business. If I peer anxiously into the fog of the future, I will strain my spiritual eyes so that I will not see clearly what is required of me now” (53, Keep a Quiet Heart). We need to work toward a better today, but not stress about what tomorrow will look like. Today is all we are meant to carry, and as Jesus said, “tomorrow will worry about itself” (Matthew 6:34).

As followers concerned with our health, let us continue to strive towards wellness and take care of our bodies. Let’s continue to keep an eye on ingredients, toss out what we know is bad, and keep going for walks in the sunshine. Let us all continue to rely on the Lord for all we need and remember that He is the One who holds our future. We can surrender our fears to Him daily because He is strong enough to carry them, and His plan is far greater than ours. Jesus tells us to “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV). We were not meant to carry the burden of life on our own, but to walk hand-in-hand with a Savior who loves us and wants to restore us on a far deeper level than we could ever imagine. So, let’s surrender our lives to Him, take up his yoke, and find true vitality.