God Wants Us to be Healthy

God wants us to be healthy. He instituted food laws in the Old Testament that were designed to make his people Israel enjoy good health. In Deuteronomy 7 God promised that if his people would obey his laws he would “keep you free from every disease”.

In Daniel 1 we find young Jewish captives who were commanded to eat the King’s food (Babylonian). They negotiated a food trial and were able to pass the trial because God’s food was better for them than the food of Babylonia… they were noticeably healthier than the others and therefore better servants to the King.

We no longer live under the Old Law but God still wants us to enjoy good health. 1 Cor. 6:19 states that we are to “honor God with our bodies”. 1 Tim 4:8 states that physical training is profitable for God’s people.

Why would God want us to enjoy good physical health? Perhaps the most important reason is that we are better servants when we are healthy. When we feel good and look good we are happier people. Happy people have fewer anger issues and more friends. Happy healthy people are more confident about spreading the good news of salvation.

Part of being healthy is eating the right kinds of foods. I know the bad (healthy) foods don’t taste as good as the good (unhealthy) foods but good, healthy and productive servants taste better to God than bad, non-productive servants do.

Prepare your hearts and bodies for service to God.