Good Monday morning,  

I struggled last night in what my direction should be today.  I have had these two thoughts bouncing around in my head and trying to prioritize them for which one should come today and the other maybe next week.  I am writing now from the office and as a sit and read and pray, I now have a direction.  

As a college instructor my responsibilities were two fold.  I taught classes in the Strength & Conditioning program designed to help people become personal trainers and taught a general education requirement class called Lifetime Fitness.  This class was designed for the non-Physical Education student to get a better understanding of the realm of individual wellness so that they might live a healthier, more productive life.  So many studies show that the concept of wellness is more than just being physically fit but that physical fitness plays a big part in how our bodies respond to stress.  And it is biblical!  God made man to be physically active. Genesis 2:15 says that “God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”  The Hebrew word for work means just that – to labor, work, do work.  Our culture today is not one of physical labor but one of comfort and ease.  Interestingly enough, the word for “take care of” means to “have charge of” or “manage.”  The meaning is very similar to our topic yesterday of “stewardship.”  Adam was to manage God’s creation. 

Now, back to the idea of wellness.  Wellness encompasses many aspects. The components I taught about were social, physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and occupational.   All of these interact with one another.  If I am not feeling well physically I am less likely to be very social, I may not want to go to work (occupational) and I might be very grumpy (emotional).  A choice made in one area of wellness will have consequences in another.  The idea behind the class was to find the proper balance in all the areas so as to optimize one’s life.  Those of you who may be on some kind of medication might understand this better.  If you take certain medications, other biological functions have to be monitored.  While a med might be good for one thing, it forces another function to alter.  Tylenol might be good for pain but long term use may affect kidney function.  I tried to teach students to make good choices that would help them live the best possible life they could by making wise choices.

Our spiritual life is kind of like the wellness concept.  The components of our spiritual life are worship, prayer, fellowship, service, evangelism, and stewardship.  We can use the same thought process in our spiritual life as we do physical wellness.  If I neglect one area such as service it may affect another area.  Am I truly being a good steward of all that God has given me if I am not serving?  If I am not studying His word?  If I am not witnessing to others?  Or if all I do is worship on Sunday morning am I really being rooted and built up in Him? Am I experiencing all that God has for me if I am not engaging in the tools He has given me to do just that?

 Where are you out of balance right now?  Are you being “all that you can be” if you aren’t engaging in all the spiritual disciplines?  And the big question is this…if God created you to make an impact in this world for the Kingdom, why wouldn’t you want to do just that? 

 One last message this Sunday on this idea of being rooted and built up in the Lord and what that will look like if we embrace the idea of continued growth in all areas of our spiritual life.

Pastor Rick