“You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.” I Corinthians 6:19-20
A neglected part of stewardship for many professing Christians is the stewardship of health. God gives us one body. We should prepare it for a long life of service to Him. A wise person said, “We should care for our body as if we will live forever, but care for our soul as if we would die tomorrow.”
Disease and death are curses of this fallen world. Some will experience the effects of this decay even though they work hard to take care of their health. Many will simply reap what they sow. When we trash the body God entrusts to us through neglect, gluttony, laziness or mistreatment, we will suffer the consequences.
We do not know the day that God will call us home. When He does, we can rest from our labors and feast continually on the presence of Christ. The life to come is one in which all sin will be removed. Death, suffering, pain, tears, disease- all will be cast out of Heaven forever– Revelation 21:3-5. But until then, we should fight the good fight of faith by training our bodies to be faithful servants of Christ.
The world worships self-indulgence on one hand and an unrealistic view of beauty on the other. Both extremes are to be avoided. The Christian should care for his/her body not out of vanity. But to serve Christ with greater focus, energy and longevity.
Proper rest, exercise, a natural diet, moderation and self-denial are areas of stewardship that we can all improve on. Every good gift that God has given us is one that we will give account to Him for. Moses writes, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”- Psalms 90:12.