As Christians we know the importance of keeping a healthy mind. But even we can sometimes overemphasize one or the other. Too often, for example, we might emphasize the spiritual or the emotional, believing that to be the core of everything. Or we might get caught up in the secular realm and see only the body as important.
The beauty of Healthy Body Healthy Mind is that it incorporates everything. After all, as Christians we know that we are not just bodies. But our Creator did give us these vessels of flesh in which we live while here on earth. Our bodies are our temples, and we must treat them as such. As Christians we must truly strive for healthy body healthy mind, for this shall lead us to healthy spirit.
Since the beginning of our faith Christians have understood the power of Christ in the healing of men, whether it be physical sickness or an addiction. The sad truth of our times, however, is that it is not alcohol or drug addiction which is the largest problem facing men today, it is obesity. The United States is one of the fattest nations on the face of the earth, if not the fattest. This is no way to treat our bodies, these holy temples which the Lord has blessed us with.
Science has shown us how obesity and not taking care of our bodies can lead to other problems as well. As Christians we must strive to unite all of these into a single whole. Beyond just Healthy Body Healthy Mind, however, we should look for even more. Healthy Body Healthy Mind Healthy Spirit. This is the unity of our entire selves, everything that the Lord has given us.
There are many Christian diets out there. The diet industry is an incredibly gargantuan one, and it is also a very lucrative one. One thing that we must always look for when examining Christian diets is: are these diets really Christian, or are they just secular diets with the word Christ slapped around a couple of times to try to reel in the very large Christian consumer market?
Christian nutrition advice, for example, often claims to be Biblically based. But is this really the case? Or are they just looking at the latest fad, such as the Atkins Diet or the South Beach Diet with a couple of Bible verses thrown in for good measure?
This is not to say that there is not much to be learned from secular diets. After all they are looking at what is best for our bodies, just as Christian nutrition advice is. But the true difference between Christian diets and secular diets is that Christians have the assistance of Christ and the Holy Spirit on their side. This is something that cannot be overemphasized.
The truth about us humans is that we are weak by nature. This goes back to Adam and the Original Sin, but it is something that everyone must face. If we really want to create true change in our lives, if we really want to experience Healthy Body Healthy Mind, we require the assistance of our Creator. Without his guidance we shall never be able to overcome our worst enemies: ourselves.