Fit to Serve

Overview

A pastor friend of mine had just been diagnosed with Adult Onset Diabetes and a number of other health problems. But he felt that the vision for ministry that God had given him was a number of years from its fulfillment. He stated, "I'm afraid that, because I haven't taken care of my physical body, it will give out before I have completed the task God has set before me." Whether my pastor friend is actually is able to finish the task is at this point yet to be determined but his lack of physical discipline is compromising his ability to carry out the vision set before him. His comment points out a here-to-fore unaddressed need in the lives of many of those who have been called into the ministry - that need is awareness and training in how to care for the physical body so that the minister of God will have the strength and stamina to complete the charge God has set before him or her. What is true of those "called to ministry" is true of each and every Christian - Our body is the temple of the Lord God of Hosts and its condition is not to be taken lightly.

The Spiritual-Physical Problem

Throughout this document I will refer to "ministers". This document was originally written as a proposal to create a training program for ministry students. But everyone who claims to be a Christian is called to be a minister. So every comment made regarding ministers applies to each and every Christian, regardless of their vocation.

Many individuals do not take adequate care of the physical body God has given to them. This is as true of Christians as it is of non-Christians. It seems especially true of those "called to the ministry." Surveys indicate that ministers are the least healthy group of individuals in America. It appears that they are so busy caring for others that they fail to care for themselves. As a result God's ability to bless them and minister through them is compromised Those involved in the Lord's work are often subjected to long hours, increased emotional stress, and physical exhaustion that often accompanies spiritual exertion. The condition of the individual's physical body affects the quality, quantity, and duration of ministry he or she is able to perform. A well maintained physical body will help the minister better handle the various physical, emotional, and spiritual stresses he or she will encounter. The poor maintenance of the minister's physical body is problematic both physically and spiritually for several reasons:

1. Our Physical Body is the Lord's Treasure
2. Our Physical Body is the Spirit's Temple
3. Our Physical Body is God's Tool
4. Our Physical Body is entrusted to us as Our "Talent"

Our Physical Body is the Lord's Treasure

The Christian's body belongs to the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:13-15a, 20)

¹³ Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food; but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body. ¹⁴ Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.¹⁵ Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? ...
²⁰ For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. - 1 Corinthians 6:12-15a,20

Since our physical body belongs to the Lord, we are to respect it as His property. To the extent we abuse or defile or fail to care for our physical body we are abusing God's property.

Our Physical Body is the Spirit's Temple

According to scripture, the Christian's body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19-20; 2 Cor 6:16)

¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? ²⁰ For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (Emphasis Mine)

¹⁶ Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,
"I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM;
AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. - 2 Corinthians 6:16

God cares about the condition of His temple. In Haggai, God indicated his displeasure with the people because they had built nice homes for themselves but left the Temple in ruins. (Haggai 1:1-11) God called them to build a temple "that I [God] may be pleased with it and glorified." Haggai 1:8b. Since the Christian's body is now the Temple of God, God desires that it be one in which He can take pride and be glorified. Pot bellies may be good for stoves but not for temples of God.

Our Physical Body is God's Tool

The members of the minister's body are dedicated to God's service (Romans 6:13).

¹³ and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. - Romans 6:13 (NASB77)

²⁶ And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" ²⁷ And he answered and said, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." ²⁸ And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; DO THIS, AND YOU WILL LIVE." - Luke 10:26-28 (NASB77)

In Romans Paul commands us to present the members of our bodies as instruments of righteousness to God. In His discussion with the lawyer in Luke 10, Jesus affirmed the law that we are to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, strength and mind. If our physical body is God's tool, one wonders how much work He can get done with such poorly maintained tools as exemplified by the body of many Christians.

Each summer during my youth my brothers and I would spend a couple of weeks on Grandpa's farm hoeing cotton. Periodically during the week, Grandpa would check each of the hoes and sharpen them prior to taking us out to the field. Because a dull hoe requires more effort and a larger swing pattern to disengage a weed from its roots, and because it is more likely to slip rather than cut its target, it is less effective than a sharp hoe at cutting the weed and can be dangerous to the cotton growing near the weed. Sharpening the hoe allowed each of us to be more effective in removing the weeds and less likely to destroy cotton in the process.

God can do anything with anything. He can use dull tools in his harvest. But do we limit His ability to use us and thereby rob ourselves of His blessing by not caring for the physical body He has entrusted to us for His use? A strong and well maintained physical body equips the Christian, and especially the Christian minister, to more effectively carry out the ministry to which the Lord has called him or her.

Our Physical Body Is Entrusted To Us As Our "Talent"

The individual's body is a talent to be invested and trained for service and obedience.

²⁷ Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified. - 1 Corinthians 9:27 (HCSB)

We are called to be stewards of all that God has placed in our care including our physical body. To the extent that we abuse and do not take care of our physical bodies we are being poor stewards. Investing in physical well being is part of the stewardship to which God calls the minister. In preparing for ministry, the condition, limitations, and abilities of the physical body must be evaluated and the body prepared for the responsibilities and challenges that a life of ministry brings.