Recently Dr. Ted Hamilton was asked to give a keynote address at a worldwide conference on health at Loma Linda University. Dr. Hamilton is a physician currently serving as senior vice president at AdventHealth for Mission and Ministry. What made his talk unique among all the experts who spoke on health was that he went beyond the need of a healthy diet and exercise for helping someone feel whole. He promoted the concept that we also need to practice the fruits of the Spirit to have a holistic approach to our health. In other words, to practice love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control is an imperative for you to live a healthy life!
Does this catch you by surprise? Or is this something you have found in your own journey? Feeling whole is associated with being a blessing to others. Those who go out of their way to help others are the happiest and most content people in this broken world. These behaviors will bring satisfaction and peace into a heart as nothing else will.
There are a lot of very physically healthy people who feel empty and dissatisfied in life simply because their focus is toward self and not others. Pumping more iron, running more miles or further refining their diets will never complete the recipe for a holistic, healthy life. Following Christ’s example of how He related to others must also be part of the formula.
Not only is practicing the fruits of the Spirit good for our health and wellbeing, the world is in desperate need of people who will give of themselves to others the way Christ gave Himself for us.
Cipher in the snow
Early in my training for being an educator, I was shown a film (yes, it was a 16 mm projector) entitled Cipher in the Snow. One of the definitions of cipher is “zero” or “nothing.” It was a story about a young boy who one day stepped off a school bus and fell straight down in the snow and simply died.
He had no health issues and his death puzzled the doctors. Why did he die? What they found out as they investigated this boy’s life was that he had no one who loved him. He was totally abandoned at home, he had no friends, and no one at his school understood the deficits he was living with.
So what was determined to be his cause of death? The young boy felt completely alone and unwanted. He felt like a zero. The impact was enough for his body to just shut down. It shook the school and community to its core and they determined not to let a tragedy like that happen again.
This story hit me hard. When I became a teacher, I was determined to watch out for the young people who were struggling. They are all around us. Every day the Lord puts in our path those who are feeling like a cipher.
Who do you know who needs a friend? I invite you to enter their lives with acts of love and kindness. It will be good for their health and yours!
Wholly Healthy Bible Study Guide
Dr. Ted Hamilton teaches a commonsense approach to health along with an uncompromising plea for balance in his Wholly Healthy Bible Study Guide.
It will cause you to pause and reflect deeply about your own health, wholeness, and sense of wellbeing.
Learn more or buy the book online: bit.ly/31kJHlt
