Being physically fit and healthy does not make a person godly.   Yet being physically unfit can be the result of choices which are ungodly and ought to be repented of.  To be faithful to the Lord one must not be lazy nor under the power of food. 

1 Corinthians 6:12-13: “Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them.  Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.”  

Since it is essential to not be under the power of any type of food, how much more does this apply to being able to restrain one’s passions from unlawful things such as committing fornication and giving into other sexually related vices like pornography and/or masturbation?  How much more does this also apply to not using illicit drugs, smoking, vaping, chewing tobacco, etc. since it could not possibly glorify God to use substances which we all know are addictive, which cause one to lose sobriety, which are illegal, and/or which are known to be terrible for one’s health?  

Though righteousness in God’s eyes demands that we reasonably take good care of our bodies, there is a way that a person can strive to keep their body in health which still is a form of idolatry and service to sin.  When time, money, physical energy, and/or mental energy are spent attending to things related to health and fitness to the point that Christian duties are neglected, then the pursuit becomes counterproductive to righteousness and inevitably involves sin.  

If one’s choices cause their overall health to decline, it should be because those choices were necessary to make in order to do what’s right before God in the particular circumstances.  There are surely at least times when doing the right thing makes it necessary to lose sleep and/or eat meals on the run which aren’t optimally healthy.  Nevertheless, many are overweight and/or in bad health otherwise due to their lack of discipline in eating and exercise- quite possibly even stemming from a rebellious commitment to pamper themselves with excess food and/or from attachment to unhealthy food and/or to other habits.  

Ecclesiastes 10:16-17: “Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat (that is, feast) in the morning!  Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!”

The poor health of many couldn’t possibly glorify God since their health problems could be solved, or at least made a lot better, if they simply stopped lying to themselves and received the discipline involved in heeding the counsel of God’s Word on these matters.  

Caution: Don’t prematurely judge a person in bad physical shape whom you don’t know well.  They might be working on it.  Maybe they’ve even already lost one hundred pounds.  If someone maybe needs to be rebuked in relation to this, deal with evident sins and evident bad patterns. 

Aaron’s email is: [email protected]

CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR FRONT PAGE FOR ALL THE STUDIES

CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR 3RD WORLD MISSION TO THE IMPOVERISHED