Physical health comes from physical discipline. In our culture, we have every kind of non-food product available to us. We have phones that can order fast food and have it delivered to our location. We have every convenience to help us that actually has taken away the physical work that saves us. We have gardeners, cleaners, mechanics and so many services that we don't have to do much but pay them. We have devices that keep us entertained or keep us working into the late night hours, and we have a busy sick society. That culture has invaded the church. Enough of the bad news!
We also have wisdom at our disposal. We have a scientific understanding that goes far beyond the capacity of most people to even grasp. We have good food and the knowledge to grow some of our own food. We have devices that allow us to spend more time doing what we want and still be very productive. We have gyms, parks, trails, bicycles, good shoes, and different kinds of courts to move our bodies and reap the benefits. We have comfortable beds and climate-controlled rooms to help us sleep and off switches so we can retire for the evening. It is all how you look at things.
1 Corinthians 9:27 (ESV)
27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
So what shall we say? I want to say we have the necessary discipline to requisite in order to accomplish everything that God has asked us to accomplish. Yes, even the hard things. The things we are not used to, like going to bed early and shutting off devices an hour or more before bed. We have what it takes to choose well. We have the power and ability to exercise and determine what food we will eat and even like! Yes, I said we can change what we like to eat! The incredible power within the human body, designed by God, for God, and in God's image and likeness is nothing short of amazing, and it is high time for us to recognize that we can do what we choose to do.
If we used to choose milk and cereal for breakfast, we could choose eggs and a cucumber. Did you say a cucumber for breakfast? Yes, I did. If we used to choose to sit all day, we could choose to sit on a stability ball or stand up instead. If we chose working long into the night, we can choose to get 7.5 hours of sleep. We get to choose. It is a powerful gift that God has given us. We can choose to be disciplined.
We act as if we need some holy motivation before disciplining ourselves. I have plenty of verses about the body I will write about in the future, but we don't need a lightning bolt from heaven to be disciplined. We choose it! Paul says he gives himself a black eye (discipline) and leads it into slavery (control). Of course, we could argue about the context and whether it is allegorical or not, but to what end? This is clearly speaking of making my body do what I want it to when something within me doesn't want to do it. This is the power of God within all of us.
So let's use it. Let's go after it! Let's tell our body what it will eat, when it will eat, when it will move, and what it will do to move. Let's tell it when it will sleep, when it will rest and when it will get a vacation. We only get one body, and even with the marvel of modern medicine, they haven't figured out how to make your health span longer, only your life span. Choose today life and health, and discipline your body to ensure you do everything in your power to attain it.