Health

Healthy is he who has learned how to smile.

Do you not know that your body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you,
whom you have received from God?
— 1 Corinthians 6:19

Are you battling the three B's of middle-age: bifocals, bulges and baldness?

The secret to health — whether it is physical well-being, spiritual vitality, emotional stability, or psychological security is a fourth B — balance.

One who focuses all his attention on physical health to the neglect of other facets of his life, as might be evidenced by models, weight lifters, and hypochondriacs, can become self-centered and have little tolerance for those who are sick, challenged, or obese.

Those, on the other hand, who concentrate solely on their intelligence, spiritual welfare, or emotional survival, may very well end up one of the sick, challenged, or obese. The key is to do all things with moderation and balance.

Instead of looking at health as the constant battle of the bulge — the all-lettuce diet, followed by 750 sit-ups, followed by an all-liquid diet, followed by the New York Marathon — view it as stewardship. Just as you would never neglect the care and upkeep of your church's sanctuary, treat your spirit-temple with equal reverence.

Little credence is given the minister who preaches condemnation of the vices when he is resting his belly on the pulpit!

Taken from The Minister's Little Devotional Book.
Copyright © 1997 by H.B. London Jr. and Stan Toler.
Used by permission of RiverOak Publishing, Tulsa, Okla.
All rights reserved.