At the beginning of every New Year, a great majority of us once again take a close assessment of ourselves and appraise our overall health. We may eventually get around to considering our emotional and mental health, and some will contemplate their spirituality. But our emphasis will most likely be the health of our physical bodies rather than our spiritual bodies; because that is what we see and evaluate in the mirror every day, and our sense of pain or pleasure and our emotions are intensely felt in the physical. But can the physical and spiritual really be separated? God’s word is clear “If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” We live in a natural human body now, but the eternal reality is we have spiritual bodies. We are spiritual beings!

The apostle Paul had much to say about the integration of our physical body and the spiritual. We cannot separate the physical from the spiritual; they go together and constitute parts of our whole being. In Romans, Paul urged us to offer our physical bodies in daily living to God as a commitment to pleasing Him. This submitting of our physical self is seen as a spiritual act of reverence, respect and love to God. Just as we discipline and exercise our physical body to become healthier, we should do the same for our spiritual one. In 1 Timothy 4 we are told to …”train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Some of the ways we train to be godly, to be healthy spiritually, are general spiritual disciplines such as reading the Bible, praying and meditating, praising and thanking God, fellowshipping with other believers, attending a Bible study, volunteering and serving others.

As we emphasize training and exercising our bodies-losing some weight, eating better, entertaining good sleep patterns-let’s not forget training for our spiritual health- our godliness- is even more important in order for us to live satisfied, purpose filled lives right now. And how much more essential for the life to come! (See 1 Corinthians 15:42-49; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Timothy 4:7-8)

Happy New Year