Proverbs 3: 5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Recently in a meeting of ministers, I have never felt so short and wide. One of the attendees was about 6’ 6” and probably weighed about 130 pounds.
Realizing that humans look and think as much alike as daylight and dark, our variances are intriguing and create in some of us a state of curiosity.
Physiologically we are as different internally as we are externally. Physiological (relating to the branch of biology that deals with the normal functions of living organisms and their parts) we are defined by numerous factors.
We humans work out, go to the gym, walk/jog/run, diet and take billions of dollars in vitamin and supplement pills to change our bodies. We want to feel better, look better and in some cases appeal to the opposite sex.
Our ancestry, nutritional variations, body chemistry and even our environmental circumstances establish in us distinctions that superficially we cannot explain. Very few people seem to be satisfied with their bodily characteristics.
We can choose our nutritional and exercise programs but it’s impossible to choose our ancestors. Such ailments as heart disease, diabetes and even cancer propensity appear to have heredity followings.
Regardless of our disease/ condition, ancestral proclivity, we do have a few conditions in our lives we can control. Among those are nutrition and exercise. Our exposure to pollutants can be controlled with limited success. To be in a room with a smoker gives us reason to know where the door is located.
1 Timothy 4:8 “For bodily exercise profits little: but Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” Notice the words “profits little.” If God was telling us it profits none, it would have said that.
Numerous places in the Bible we are told to run. “Isaiah 40: 31 “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
This verse is telling us to find our strength in the Lord and that is great advice but it can also be referring to endurance. Physical exercise builds endurance, especially cardio-vascular exercise such as running or bicycling.
Endurance, mental, emotional and physical, is of great benefit for those called to promote the Gospel of our Jesus. If one’s purpose in life is to lead others to Christ, we must be strong to endure the work Jesus assigned to us (Matthew 28: 18-19). The Bible also acknowledges the mind-body connection. Proverbs 17: 22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
Have you ever felt really down, to the point of depression? Then the grandchildren came to visit or your dog came along and appeared to think you were the grandest person to ever live. It’s really interesting how one’s attitude and self-concept can quickly change. The improvement may be temporary but life is better.
We can also take this as a lesson to build people up (encourage) rather than to criticize. When a person, especially children, hears nothing but negativism, what can we expect them to become? Do you want to make an enemy for life? Humiliate or insult them!
Many parents today are using the TV or smart phone for a babysitter. This negligent practice not only contributes to the dumbing of future generations but contributes to the ignorance that affects decision making processes.
Proverbs 22: 6 “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Failure to heed this scriptural admonition contributes to the degradation of our world societal status and will proliferate as technology proceeds with the development of more “toys” that teach harmful values.
Proverbs 22: 7 “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Such a dire warning of the dangers of debt should be a red flag warning to individuals and governments but greed and blindness prohibits that from happening.
These examples are only a few of the reasons our human differences are so segmented and divergent. The only solution is to return to the teachings of God in the Holy Bible. The problems of this world have a solution and the only barrier to these Biblical teachings is people.
We are spiritual beings. I Corinthians 6: 19 “What, Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” God made us with our physical and mental variances for a reason. To believe He has a purpose for all of us may seem to stretch the imagination for many but the Bible clearly states Jesus came to save all, (John 3: 17) not just a select few. The Bible also tells us unequivocally God Jesus called the Apostle Paul to take the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 3: 15). As different physically as we may be, Christ died for the remission of sin of the world.
Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and commissioned missionary. A part of the Bible Connection series. His email: vmy2121@outlook.com