BY ELLIE GIL
In today’s world we are being pushed to make smart choices about our emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Let’s face it: many of us have become inactive, overweight, overworked, and overextended. If we don’t make changes now, we’ll soon suffer the consequences of our poor choices. No matter how healthy we look on the outside, it’s on the inside that we have to stay healthy, so that we may reflect the One who lives within us.
Here, in no particular order, are some tips for being smart, healthy Christians, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
1Enjoy Learning.
Learning is a lifelong journey, and smart, healthy Christians are willing to learn new things. They don’t neglect the technical knowledge necessary to advance their professional careers. In addition, Christians satisfy their curiosity about life by filling their minds with the endless lessons God teaches us in His Word. God said: “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children” (Hosea 4:6).
We have to continually challenge our minds to learn new things, broaden our knowledge of the things here on earth, as well as continually learn about eternal truths, to see with fresh eyes and understanding.
2Think Outside the Box.
I often hear seasoned Christians reject new ideas because “that’s not the way we’ve always done it.” Think about it: our lives would be completely different if people weren’t willing to think outside the box.
If someone had not thought outside the box, we’d still have to hitch up a team of horses to get to work. We’d still be chopping firewood to warm our homes and lighting candles to see at night. We’d still be using the pony express instead of sending e-mails. Listen to others’ ideas with an open mind. Maybe the Lord has inspired them to try something new, innovative, and fresh. “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Prov. 29:18, KJV).
3Be Self-aware.
Smart, healthy Christians are aware of their strengths and weaknesses, willing to seek God’s help in minimizing their weaknesses and allowing God to use their strengths and talents for His purposes and His glory.
To the apostle Paul, God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” That allowed Paul to write: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Cor. 12:9).
We have to allow God to use the strength and talents He has given us, and ask Him to strengthen us in areas that we feel weak. Even though we might not feel strong, confident, or qualified to do something, it doesn’t mean God cannot use us. He doesn’t just call the qualified; He qualifies the called.
It wasn’t a great evangelist who brought salvation to Captain Naaman’s house; it was a humble maidservant who knew God and was willing to step out and fearlessly share God with her master (see 2 Kings 5:1-3). It wasn’t the largest restaurant owner in Israel whom Jesus used to feed 5,000; He used a boy with five loaves and two fish, who was willing to step out and share what little he had to be used by Jesus (see John 6:5-10).
4Have a Sense of Humor.
Smart and healthy Christians know not to take life too seriously. They find humor in life experiences and learn lessons from them. A positive outlook was so important to Paul that he emphasized it in this verse to the Christians in Philippi—twice: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4).
It saddens me to see so-called Christians as some of the grumpiest people I know. We have to find humor and joy in the things around us. Life will not feel so heavy when we look at it with some humor. Life, the saying goes, is what happens to you when you’re making other plans.
5Be Productive.
Smart and healthy Christians don’t sit back to see who will get the job done. They manage to get the job done as they choose their tasks wisely. The apostle Paul wrote: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Col. 3:23).
God doesn’t ask us to take on the problems of the world. He has given us the gift of compassion to find that one thing that moves us to action and has the greatest impact. We often feel pressured by society to be involved in a variety of things, many of them good. Then we fail miserably because we try to do more than is humanly possible.
Take baby steps, with or without the support of others. If we wait to give a Bible study because we don’t have enough people for a study group, if we don’t help at a soup kitchen because the rest of the church doesn’t want to join us, we might just see life pass us by and opportunities to serve God and others will be just a memory of “things I would have done if. . . .”
Smart, healthy Christians write down their strategies and set priorities. Jesus said: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33). To live productively, we have to be organized and put God first. As we see Him in action, He leads us in paths He has chosen for us.
6Teach Others.
God has given us all different talents, and these talents must be shared. Remember the story of the servant who stored his talent instead of putting it to use (see Matt. 25:14-30)?
Opportunities to share our knowledge with others are legion: whether that means sharing a new recipe, linking to an interesting Internet site on your Facebook page, or telling someone how to save money on their utilities.
Of course, when we share with others a new and enlightened view of a scripture we have read dozens of times, when we tell others how God has moved in our lives, we are teaching the greatness and goodness of God. People may be able to argue about our theology, but they cannot argue about what God has done in our lives.
7Take Risks.
Smart, healthy Christians take risks and walk through doors God has opened, knowing that God will not allow them to fail when they walk and serve in His will. They accept apparent failure as a learning experience. Said the wise man: “I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw” (Prov. 24:32).
Healthy Christians don’t live in fear of the unknown. They step out in faith and take risks. We fail only if we fail to try.
8Be Content.
Job was not among one of the most successful people in the Bible because of his wealth or achievements, but rather for his faith in God. In spite of losing his livelihood, his family, his health, he remained faithful to the Lord. The apostle Paul, often a prisoner, wrote, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Phil. 4:11).
We have to shake society’s concept that happiness is just one more dollar, one more purchase, one more achievement away. Being content in our circumstances frees us from the burden of living in want. Being content is knowing that God is on our side, and that in Him we have it all.
9Be Responsive.
Seize the moment and take advantage of every God-given opportunity to serve others. When in doubt, don’t hesitate, just do it! You’ll never regret of having done good. The apostle Paul wrote: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Rom. 12:11).
Sometimes we don’t act on an opportunity to serve others because we wonder if someone else can do it better, someone with more resources. Let’s ask God to fill us with an all-consuming passion to serve Him.
10Be Generous.
The cries of suffering men and women, boys and girls call us to be active in showing God’s love. Notice how the apostle Paul linked generosity and compassion to obedience: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). Many times we find ourselves judging what circumstances brought someone to their condition, and we withhold using our talents, our time, and our means to lift them up.
We don’t have to continually help those who aren’t willing to help themselves. But we have to pray for discernment to see when there is true need and not hesitate to act upon it.
11Be Truthful.
Whether in one’s personal or professional life, a smart, healthy Christian’s word is worth gold. In the book of Proverbs, wisdom says: “My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness” (Prov. 8:7).
Integrity in our daily lives—in both word and action—tells thousands of sermons that we would never be able to preach. Character is revealed by what we do when no one is watching. Let me let you in on something: someone is watching. God is watching, our children are watching, our neighbors and coworkers are watching. Let God shine through us in all we do. Let them wonder what makes us so special.
12Be Thankful.
Remember the leper who returned to thank the Master for his healing (Luke 17). The apostle James wrote: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17). We have to live our lives with an attitude of gratitude, thanking God for His blessings in the big things He does for us, as well as the little ones. The chains that seem to bind us in a world that can be cruel and difficult fall helplessly behind us when we live in praise for what God has done and is doing for us and for who He is.
The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation” (Isa. 12:2). God is as good as His promises. As we look back on our lives and count our blessings, countless experiences strengthen our faith when we recall how He has brought us through difficult circumstances.
One day soon God will give us perfect minds and bodies. But for now we have to do our best to care for them. Our biggest challenge is to become smart, healthy, and happy Christians until He comes to take us home.
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Ellie Gil is a pastor’s wife and mother of three who counts ministry as one of life’s greatest blessings. This article was published June 16, 2011.
