Recently, I have begun again to get healthier and lose weight. It’s hard. But it’s something important that I really need/want to be doing so that I will feel better and function better in my life physically, mentally, and emotionally. As I write this, it has been three and a half weeks that I have been one hundred percent on track. I’m eating healthy and drinking lots of water. I’m feeling better and already losing some weight. I’m feeling really good with my progress mentally and physically. It’s exciting. It feels like a new me.
But, once again, I have been smacked upside the head with an important reminder. As I have been working so hard to eat and drink healthy so that I can be a new me physically, I’ve had to ask myself, “How am I doing with the new me spiritually?” Ouch. I am reminded of what Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 4:8 that “bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” That always brings me back to the perspective and priorities I should be having. Physical health and exercise are important and helpful while we’re here on this earth. But we have to remember that this physical life is temporary. No matter how good we eat, no matter how much we exercise, no matter how many vitamins and pills we use, we are still going to die one day. What then?
What matters most in this life now and in eternity to come is my spiritual self. It is a matter of keeping our priorities straight. The struggle is that we can get so caught up in this life now. We want to lose weight. We want to make money. We want to have fun. We want to _______. We can work so hard and so long to obtain those things but if we aren’t putting God first and living a godly life, then what good will any of those accomplishments or possessions be in eternity? As Jesus said Matthew 16:26, “what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” I can lose 150 pounds and be as healthy as can be. But what good is that if I lose my soul and spend eternity in hell? Would it be worth it? No.
Think about the parable Jesus gave in Luke 12, “Then one from the crowd said to Him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ But He said to him, ‘Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?’ And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’ Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, “What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?” So he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’” But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?” So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God’” (vv 13-21). We can have everything in this world we could ever want or need. But if we don’t have God first, then we will end up with nothing but torment in eternity.
We are to be living a new life spiritually above all (Ephesians 4:22-24). We are to be seeking God first (Matthew 6:33). Holiness needs to be our focus each day before anything else (1 Peter 1:13-16). Godliness will benefit our lives here on earth and will then bring the benefits of eternal life in Heaven with God. While we are busy with our daily lives, let’s put God first and keep our priorities in their proper order. Remember what matters most. Pray about it. Fill your heart and mind with God’s Word. Be around other people who are focusing on God. Take to heart what Jesus said in Matthew 13, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (vv 44-46). May we have that same kind of heart and zeal for God in our own lives.
A Cord of Blue 