Wisdom & Health

SCRIPTURE: Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil. It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts] And refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones. Proverbs 3:7-8 AMP

THOUGHT: It is a distinctly Christian worldview that says our bodies matter (rather than our bodies are just matter). There are so many worldviews afoot that, on the one hand, see technology as the answer to health and longevity, and on the other treat the body as if it has no real worth at all, just a random collection of cells, a random collection of drives and impulses. The thing those dichotomies share is an ancient worldview called dualism, which separated things into categories of good or evil; the spirit being elevated while the body is deemed unimportant, just an empty vessel to be tinkered with or indulged or ignored. Gnostics disregarded the importance of their body by reveling in whatever pleasure presented itself, saying that their spirit was untouchable by sin. Sometimes, they fled to the opposite end of the spectrum, practicing severe asceticism, rejecting the needs of their bodies altogether.

Here Solomon connects a proper relationship with God with the health of your body and mine. He clearly separates the notion of evil from the body, as did Jesus Christ when he comes wrapped in flesh. It is not the body that is evil, it’s what we store up in the heart, and what comes out of our mouths. The fear of God is the beginning of both wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 9:10, Psalm 111:10), and it’s the starting place for honoring our spirits and our bodies — and those of others as well.

I don’t know about you, but I can always use some health in my marrow, nerves, sinews and muscles – and a little refreshment for my bones would be wonderful too.

PRAYER: Thank you for the gift of a body, Lord, and for the gift of your Spirit living inside it. Help us find the wisdom of both/and, rejecting the dualism of either/or and keeping our awe of you as the centerpiece of our lives. Grant us health and refreshment as we live out faith wrapped up in this fragile flesh.