Ten Biblical Keys To Physical Health

We must not make an idol out of physical health (1 Timothy 4:8). However, as stewards of God, we have a responsibility to make the most of all that the Lord has placed into our hands, for His glory. Our physical bodies must not be morally defiled, OR physically abused. As Christians, our bodies belong to the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:20).

The Bible teaches much more about how to preserve physical health than many might realize. In this brief article, we will simply point out ten general keys to physical health that our Lord has graciously revealed in the Bible:

1. Repent and abstain from sin! Sin destroys physical health by breaking the natural laws that the Lord has ordained to preserve health:

Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Proverbs 5:22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

Jeremiah 2:19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Romans 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and RECEIVING IN THEMSELVES THAT RECOMPENCE of their error which was meet.

1 Corinthians 6:9 …abusers of themselves with mankind…

2. Sin destroys physical health by bringing down God’s judgment upon the sinner:

1 Corinthians 11:30 For this cause many are WEAK AND SICKLY AMONG YOU, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

3. Alcohol (and other addictive drugs/poisons) will destroy physical health:

Proverbs 23:31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder…35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

4. In like manner intemperance and gluttony are sins that will destroy health:

Luke 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness…

Proverbs 23:20 Be not among winebibbers; among RIOTOUS EATERS OF FLESH: 21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

For example, too much of even the healthy, unrefined sugar (as in natural honey, juices, etc.) will cause physical problems (how much more will man-made chemicals such as high fructose corn syrup, refined white sugar, etc. bring us problems?):

Proverbs 25:16 Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it…27 It is not good to eat much honey…

5. Fasting, in holiness, is pleasing to the Lord. It can promote health by detoxifying the body. However, irregular, irresponsible eating (as with those on drugs or alcohol, or those with a lack of self-discipline etc.), or a lack of quality food, will ruin our physical health like bad gas in an automobile. To try to live without nourishment is deadly:

Acts 27:33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to TAKE MEAT, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for THIS IS FOR YOUR HEALTH: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.35 And when he had thus spoken, he TOOK BREAD, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.

6. Constantly hearing and/or speaking harsh, cruel, angry words will destroy one’s health:

Proverbs 12:18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.

Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

For this reason (among others) the TV and movie theater (where people hear sinful speech, and learn to speak it) are bad for your physical health. Also, the constant beholding of death, darkness, sin, depravity, and foolishness will ruin one’s health:

Proverbs 15:30…a good report maketh the bones fat.

7. Likewise, we must walk in true joy to be healthy physically:

Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

We can rejoice in faith and hope, even in the midst of trials. But if we do not diligently keep our hearts, our joy will be destroyed by sin or evil communications. This is one reason why researchers continue to find that the healthiest people are those who attend church more than once a week (Psalms 73:16-17; Hebrews 10:25). It is the Lord and His Word that will increase our joy, and thus preserve our health. The truth of this ancient Proverb (17:22) is continually supported by modern researchers:

“An examination of the emotions and health of more than 200 middle-aged Londoners – 116 men and 100 women – showed that those who expressed themselves happiest had healthier biological functions.” (http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/04/19/nhappy19.xml)

We must understand that our joy is greatly dependent upon our speech (Proverbs 15:23). While we must avoid so-called Positive Thinking, etc., we do need to study and practice what the Scriptures teach about rejoicing, casting our cares on the Lord through prayer and faith, and disciplining our minds to think on virtue, praise, etc. (see Philippians 4:4,8). The nightly, worldly news will likely make you sick – literally!:

Proverbs 12:25 Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.

8. If true joy can bring health, notice that sunlight brings joy (physical sunlight, and spiritual sunlight):

Proverbs 15:30 The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart…

Ecclesiastes 11:7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:

1 Thessalonians 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober…

Open the windows and get plenty of fresh air and sunlight (with your clothes on).

9. Work (physical exercise) is healthy. God made man to work, even before he fell. After the fall, God has ordained for man to work and SWEAT! (Genesis 3). Paul walked many miles (Acts 20:13). Without work and exertion, our health will suffer. Aside from the obvious problems of inactivity, laziness breeds depression, restlessness and grief:

Proverbs 26:14 As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.  15 The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it GRIEVETH him to bring it again to his mouth.

10. And while there are many more keys that could be mentioned, the previous key brings us to the final one we will mention in this article:

Ecclesiastes 5:12 The sleep of a LABOURING man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

We see that good, hard, honest work promotes a refreshing, healing, sweet sleep. Rest (without laziness) is important to health. As in fasting from food, abstaining from sleep (as in prayer, study, or night watches) may be beneficial and/or necessary at times.

Persecution is usually not good for our physical health. That is why we are not to love our lives to the death. But a healthy body is a better sacrifice for the Lord (Malachi 1:13) if we are called to suffer for His name. Therefore, good rest is an important part of our stewardship. We are told in the Scriptures that often riches and cares of this life (i.e. too many oxen), will not allow a man to sleep well. For this reason, a godly simplicity should not be despised; it has more virtues than many realize (Proverbs 15:17). Simplicity allows the working man to sleep sweetly, and heal his body:

Psalms 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

Let’s get zealous about holy, healthy living, so we can be all that we are called to be in the Lord!