Stop MURDERING Yourself!

 If you grew up in the industrialized world, especially in the United States, during the 1960s, ‘70s, or ‘80s, then you probably don’t remember seeing many obese people back then. You probably remember most children playing outside and being active during the evenings, weekends, and summers. You probably remember your mothers making home-cooked meals largely from scratch.

Video games and TV channels were few. The Internet didn’t exist yet. There was no YouTube, Netflix, or Hulu. Fast food and other forms of “junk food” were occasional treats, not daily staples. In short, people of past generations tended to be more active and eat healthier food than those of today.

From 1960 to 1980, the US obesity rate hovered around 15% or below. Today, it’s north of 42% — nearly triple!

Also today, the biggest cause of death each year in the US is heart disease — largely a result of obesity. But that’s not all. Strokes are the fifth leading cause of death, diabetes the eighth, and kidney disease the tenth. Obesity is the biggest factor in all these. It is complicit in at least four of the top ten causes of death! Adding up the total deaths, it becomes apparent that over one million Americans die each year due to being just plain fat and unhealthy.

But this is a Bible blog and not a health blog. So what does the Bible say about today’s epidemic of obesity, disease, and poor health? Quite a lot, as it turns out!

God’s Gift of Good Health

Good health is one of God’s greatest physical blessings. The apostle John began his third epistle thus: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2).

Of God’s servant Moses, at the time of his death, we read, “Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished” (Deut. 34:7). During the conquest of Canaan, Caleb reflected on God’s blessings, observing, “And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in” (Josh. 14:10-11).

King Solomon wrote in Prov. 20:29, “The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is their gray head.” It’s difficult to have strength without good health, or good health without strength!

Now, there are folks who were born with incurable illnesses or physical or mental disabilities. We read of a few of them in the Bible, such as a man who was “lame from his mother's womb” (Acts 3:2). There have been many young children who have developed cancer and other terrible diseases through no fault of their own. Though these people may not experience God’s blessing of good health in this life, they have hope in a future world in which there will be no disease.

But for most of us, good health is well within our grasp. We can experience it simply by taking proper care of the bodies God has given us. As the apostle Paul wrote, “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church [ekklesia; assembly]” (Eph. 5:29).

If you gave your teenage son a used, but nice, Toyota Camry as a first car, and he beat it to pieces and wrecked it through simple carelessness, how would you feel? Would you be pleased? Would you go out and buy him a Lamborghini instead?

Likewise, if God has gifted us with good health and we destroy it with laziness and gluttony, do you suppose He is pleased? I should say not! On the contrary, God expects us to be good stewards of everything He has given us. If we aren’t, why should He give us anything better? Jesus Christ told us,

10 “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

11 “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

12 “And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?” (Luke 6:10-12.)

So how can we be good stewards of these physical bodies our Creator has given us? Let’s look at some Biblical principles. The truth is, most cases of poor health result from disobedience to God’s instructions, as we’ll soon see!

The Value of Exercise

God designed human beings to move and be active. Over and over again, the Eternal commanded us to work. In the fourth commandment, He not only said, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” He also said, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work” (Ex. 20:9; Deut. 5:13). The apostle Paul wrote, “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thes. 3:10).

Proverbs and Ecclesiastes offer many warnings against laziness. Let’s look at a handful of these.

“Because of laziness the building decays, and through idleness of hands the house leaks” (Eccl. 10:18).

“How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep — so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man” (Prov. 6:9-11).

“The lazy man will not plow because of winter; he will beg during harvest and have nothing” (Prov. 20:4).

“The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labor” (Prov. 12:24).

Now, in Bible days, nearly every occupation required physical exertion, whether one was a farmer, a tradesman, a merchant, or a wife and mother. So it remained until well into the twentieth century, when modern technology reduced or eliminated most of the manual labor required of all human beings throughout history. Today, many of us have desk jobs that require little physical activity.

I don’t mean to suggest that there’s anything wrong with modern conveniences. However, the facts remain that God designed the human body to be active, that He commanded us to work, and that He condemned laziness. If we fail to heed God’s design, then we will have weak, sickly bodies, as surely as one plus one equals two! If we don’t get rigorous physical activity through daily life, then we must get it some other way, whether lifting weights at the gym, running, or doing calisthenics.

Remember, “The glory of young men is their strength” (Prov. 20:29). And of the Proverbs 31 woman, we read, “She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms” (Prov. 31:17). You will not get strong by being sedentary!

Even folks with severe and terminal illnesses, who couldn’t walk more than a half dozen steps without getting out of breath, have recovered simply by forcing themselves to move. Simply by taking a few more steps each day until, months later, they could walk around an entire block without getting out of breath.

One fellow, a wartime journalist by the name of Michael Fallon, suffered severe wounds and lung damage in World War II. Multiple doctors gave him just two years to live and advised him to take life as easy as possible, or else he might die sooner. Over the next year, he followed their advice and mostly rested, moving as little as possible. He got sicker and sicker, wasting away and dwindling down to less than 100 pounds. Tired of sitting around waiting to die, Michael decided he had nothing to lose and started exercising. Instead of dying sooner, he slowly began to get stronger! Ten years later, he wrote a book called Muscle Building For Beginners, in which he told his story and wrote that he could now squat 300 pounds ten times.

The apostle Paul wrote, “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Tim. 4:8). Notice that he didn’t say bodily exercise doesn’t profit, but rather that it profits little in comparison with godliness. Vigorous physical activity does indeed improve our health. We must simply keep our priorities straight and “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Mat. 6:33).

Temperance

Just as vital as physical activity and hard work, is temperance. Self-control. A cinnamon roll might make a tasty treat, but that doesn’t mean we need cinnamon rolls every day, that we should snack on them all day long, or that we need six of them with each meal. As Solomon wrote in Prov. 25:16, “Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit.”

Self-control is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23).

The apostle Paul repeatedly exhorted God’s people to be temperate (1 Tim. 3:2; Tit. 1:7-8; 2:2, 5). “Temperate” is Strong’s # G4998, which is the Greek word sophron. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines it thus: “of sound mind, sane, in one's senses; curbing one's desires and impulses, self-controlled, temperate.”

Invoking the analogy of an athlete training for a competition, Paul wrote,

24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.

26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.

27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. (1 Cor. 9:24-27.)

Remember the words of our Savior: “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Mat. 6:25). We don’t need the finest of food; we simply need nourishment. God’s purpose for us is far beyond physical pleasure! Far beyond the fleeting sensation of a pleasant flavor on our tongues.

There is NO AREA in our lives that doesn’t require self-control! There is no area in our lives in which we’re free to live with abandon, devoid of self-discipline. Gorging ourselves on potato chips, chocolate bars, and ice cream is NOT God’s purpose for us! We must never live to eat, but rather eat to live.

God gave the Israelites manna for forty years. He didn’t give them a big variety of food, nor did He give them fine food. He gave them what they needed for nourishment.

When they complained about God’s provision and demanded quail, He put many of them to death for their unthankfulness! “But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was aroused against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great plague. So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving” (Num. 11:33-34).

Could we live for forty years on manna, without any of our favorite foods? Would we be thankful for God’s provision, without complaining? If not, we would’ve perished with our forefathers! Let us not “complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition” (1 Cor. 10:10-11).

Again, God fed Elijah with bread and meat (1 Kings 17:2-7). Elijah didn’t complain about the lack of variety; he was simply thankful that God provided food for him.

Brethren, there shouldn’t be a food or a dish on this planet that means more to us than our relationship with our Creator! There shouldn’t be a food or a dish on this planet that means more to us than building Godly character. No one who lacks Godly character will be in His Kingdom. No one who does not practice self-control will be in His Kingdom.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying fine food. But there IS something wrong with lacking temperance and self-control! Ignoring God’s instructions leads to unpleasant consequences, such as obesity and a host of other health problems. All His instructions are for our good (Deut. 10:13).

“Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit.”

A Cheerful Heart

The third element of good health that I want to cover today is a mental one: having a positive attitude. Each day, we should be cheerful, joyful, and thankful for all God has done for us. Failure to do so, once again, brings about unpleasant physical consequences, such as depression and sickness.

In the Book of Proverbs, we find, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones” (Prov. 17:22). Again, “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (Prov. 15:13). And again, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?” (Prov. 18:14).

There are times in life to be sorrowful, but those times are the exception and not the rule. It’s natural to be sorrowful over the death of a loved one. It’s necessary to be sorrowful when we have done wrong, for repentance requires sorrow. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Cor. 7:9-10).

Note the contrast between Godly sorrow and the sorrow of the world. We must be sorrowful and repent when we have done wrong. But “the sorrow of the world produces death.”

As God’s people, who have the hope of His Kingdom and His salvation, we have much to be joyful about! And that ought to be our normal state of mind, for joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). As Solomon wrote in the Book of Ecclesiastes, “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works” (Eccl. 9:7).

Overcoming

Now, many people may agree with these Biblical principles of good health. Get physical exercise, be temperate when eating, and maintain a cheerful outlook. I think most of us would probably agree that these things are not only Scriptural, but also just plain common sense.

The problem is, many of us don’t apply these things. We know these things are true, but many of us don’t live by them. How important is it, anyway? What can one more donut hurt? One more Coke? One more chocolate bar? One more potato chip?

Okay, so I’m 50 pounds overweight. I just really like food! What’s the big deal?

Well, the Bible has quite a few things to say about gluttony, obesity, and lack of self-control. The Book of Proverbs warns, “Do not mix with winebibbers, or with gluttonous eaters of meat; for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags” (Prov. 23:20-21). Again, “Whoever keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons shames his father” (Prov. 28:7).

The apostle Paul wrote to Titus concerning the Cretans, “One of them, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.’ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith” (Tit. 1:12-13).

As for obesity itself, when Moses warned Israel of its future rebellion against the Most High, he said, “But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; you grew fat, you grew thick, you are obese! Then he forsook God who made him, and scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation” (Deut. 32:15).

God’s Word sometimes uses fatness to describe a spiritual state of stupor. Here’s Isa. 6:10 (KJV): “Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.”

King David spoke of the wicked, “They have closed up their fat hearts; with their mouths they speak proudly” (Psa. 17:10). And again, in Psalm 119, we read, “The proud have forged a lie against me, but I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart. Their heart is as fat as grease, but I delight in Your law” (Psa. 119:69-70).

Now, to be fair, there are other passages where fatness is spoken of in a positive way. For example, after Daniel and his three friends refused to eat King Nebuchadnezzar’s delicacies and ate only vegetables for ten days, “at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies” (Dan. 1:15). It should be readily apparent, however, that this simply means Daniel and his three friends were healthy. Neither emaciated nor fat, but simply healthy. A diet of vegetables has never yet made anyone obese!

It should be noted also that Daniel and his friends had not only been careful to avoid eating any unclean meats, but that they had also exercised temperance and self-control by refusing the king’s delicacies. They had obeyed the instruction found in Prov. 23:1-3: “When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you; and put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.”

As God’s people, we must not be slaves to our passions and desires, but rule over them. Paul reminded Titus, “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another” (Tit. 3:3).

The New Testament speaks often of those whose god is their belly, who serve their own fleshly desires in place of the Creator. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame — who set their mind on earthly things” (Phil. 3:18-19). To the congregation in Rome, he wrote, “For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple” (Rom. 16:18).

Of the days and the generation in which we now live, we read, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Tim. 3:1-4).

By the power of Almighty God and His Holy Spirit, we can overcome any addiction, whether it be alcohol, tobacco, drugs, pornography, unhealthy food, gluttony/overeating, or any other addiction that might enslave us. I don’t mean to imply that it’s easy, but it is certainly possible! Again, Paul wrote, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Cor. 6:12-13).

Remember, your body is not your own! It is a gift from Almighty God.

18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.

19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. (1 Cor. 6:18-20).

God expects us to be good stewards of everything He’s given us, including our bodies. “And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?” (Luke 16:12).

If you gave a gift to someone, would it make you happy to see that person throw it in the mud, stomp on it a few times, and give it to the dog as a chew toy? Yet our bodies and our health are a wonderful gift from God! And so many people destroy their health for no reason other than lacking self-control. For no reason other than being slaves to various passions and lusts. For no reason other than making their bellies their gods.

There’s many a diabetic who continues to drink Cokes and eat candy bars while his feet rot off. There’s many a man lying in bed dying of lung cancer, breathing through an oxygen tube, who insists on smoking cigarettes through the hole in his throat. There’s many a 300-lb woman riding up and down the aisles at the grocery store on an electric scooter, filling her basket with potato chips, candy bars, and Coke.

This is nothing more than a slow form of suicide! It’s self-murder. It’s foolish, stupid, and wrong. Destroying one’s body and health, whether fast or slowly, simply to gratify one’s own desires is extraordinarily selfish. How can we take care of our families if we’re physically unable to do so?

Is the fleeting taste of that Big Mac more important than being healthy enough to care for our families? Is getting a momentary nicotine fix more important than our spouses? Is that chocolate bar more important than being alive and in good health for our children? Is relishing that Coke for a few minutes more important than living to see our grandchildren?

Are we like the Israelites of old? Are our cravings more important than anything else, more than life itself? Napoleon Bonaparte astutely observed, “The reason most people fail instead of succeed is they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment.”

As God’s people, whatever we do must be to His glory: “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). So let us ask ourselves: Does our eating and drinking glorify our Creator? 

Who are we glorifying if we’re gorging ourselves on junk food? Who are we glorifying if we’re destroying our health? Who are we glorifying if we won’t control our appetites? What god are we worshiping?

Ultimately, we either glorify our great Creator, or we glorify Satan the Devil. There is no third option!

Satan wants you to destroy yourself. To the extent that such a malicious being could ever be happy, self-destruction makes him gleeful. He loves it when we surrender to our lusts instead of ruling over them. He undoubtedly jumps for joy and claps his hands with glee every time someone commits adultery. Every time a man gets drunk and beats his wife and children. Every time a junkie takes another hit and falls back into a stupor. Every time a cancer patient reaches for another cigarette. Every time a diabetic reaches for another candy bar.

Satan’s whole way of life is the way of death and destruction! Everything he places before our eyes is intended to destroy us! Gluttony, smoking, alcoholism, drugs, sexual immorality… these are all slow forms of self-destruction and suicide. And all these things are driven by lust and covetousness.

The carnal mind is a self-destructive mind, for it is the mind of Satan. The carnal mind is self-seeking and covetous. The carnal mind lacks self-control. “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Rom. 8:7).

But by the power of Almighty God and His Spirit, there is no sin that you cannot overcome. No lust you cannot rule over. No craving you cannot conquer. By the power of God, we can bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

So which do you choose? The way of self-control and life, or the way of self-indulgence and death? Everyone who truly loves you, including your Creator, would have you choose life!