Volume 38 Number 1 September 1995
The Bible says in Ephesians 5:29: "For no one has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church." Even though we have this natural desire to take care of the body, sin has a way of deceiving us. Many carnal habits such as smoking, drinking, and carousing are practiced because they make a person feel good for a moment; as if he is "nourishing and cherishing" his own body. Yet how ironic that these same pleasurable habits turn out to be the ruin of so many! Consider the recent case of the professional baseball legend:
During the course of his adult life, Mickey Mantle tarried too long and too often at the wine, and by the time he reached age 63 his lack of self-control caught up with him. As disease began to take its toll on his once glorious body, not even modern medical technology could prevent him from finally going the way of all men. In the painful months before his death, he made the tragic statement, "If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would've taken better care of myself." May the righteous Judge of us all have mercy upon his soul.
The sad statement of this dying man should prompt the rest of us who are a few steps behind him to have second thoughts about our own ways. How long do you think you are going to live? Maybe you haven't been living your life on earth addicted to the bottle or engaged in some other blatantly sinful or hurtful habit. Maybe you actually take good care of your body by eating healthy foods and getting plenty of exercise. Maybe you take daily vitamins and have regular check-ups with your doctor. All of this is good, but you could maintain top physical condition for the rest of your life and still not be taking care of yourself in reality.
It is right for a person, especially the child of God, to take care of his physical body since it is the temple of the Holy Ghost, purchased at a tremendous price so that God could work His Will through it (I Corinthians 6:19, 20; I Peter 1:18,19; Ephesians 2:8-10). But we must place afar greater emphasis on taking care of the "inward man" (II Corinthians 4:16) by viewing our "moment" of time on earth in relationship to eternity. It is essential to our eternal salvation that we see life the way Paul did by looking at the eternal "things which are not seen," rather than the temporal "things which are seen."
Essential to our spiritual health is the realization that we cannot "live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4b). We must imbibe the doctrine of Christ! Neglecting the reading and studying of the scriptures will drain the life out of a child of God. Better to neglect your three meals a day than to forsake the Word of life. Jesus learned the lesson and He is now sitting at the right hand of God. He took care of Himself, and in so doing, He took good care of us. Have we learned from our Teacher?
The apostle Paul taught in I Timothy 4:7b, 8: " ...but exercise thyself unto godliness. For bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but godliness is profitable for everything, having promise of life, of the present one, and of that to come." While this passage acknowledges the little benefit of bodily exercise, his main point to Timothy is the great advantages of exercising to become like God. There are many people, even in the church, who take good care of their physical body but are in critical condition spiritually (Revelation 3: l7). There is much more to life than being in good physical shape. If we do not exercise ourselves to become like God, then we are not really taking good care of ourselves.
Failure to exercise can lead to spiritual obesity and laziness, which is not acceptable to our Father. "For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has before prepared that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). Ingesting the Word of God energizes us for His work (our exercise), unless we are merely deceived hearers (James 1:22-25). To look in God's mirror, see what needs to be done, and then just walk away and forget all about it is not taking good care of ourselves.
Taking good care of yourself is simply a matter of faith. If you are fully convinced there will be a resurrection and judgment to come (John 5:28, 29), that God is and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6), and that nothing on earth is more valuable than your soul (Matthew 16:26, 27), then you will be striving with all your might to take good care of yourself while here on earth. But if you live as if there is no God, contrary to what God has shown us (Romans 1:19, 20), then your way of life, whatever it may be, will lead to your eternal destruction. "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17).
In view of what it means to take better care of ourselves, it is only fitting that the question be asked, "Am I taking good care of myself today?" The answer to the question is critical. Will your answer be the same answer your Judge will give on the Last Day? How many souls will burn forever in the lake of fire regretting their lack of foresight and sorry that they didn't take better care of themselves during their brief moment on earth? Let us not be among that cursed number. Let us resolve today to take better care of ourselves so that our eternal portion will be life everlasting.