If someone’s arm were strapped to their body and they were asked to walk around that way for several months, at the end of that time we would see that the immobilized arm had grown weak and no longer possessed its former strength. Our bodies understand very well what to do with muscles that are not being used: they simply allow them to weaken or atrophy.
The seventh law of health: Physical activity.
In our age of transportation, comfort, and speed, many people have forgotten how to move. If my daily physical activity is limited to walking from the couch to the kitchen and the bathroom, it is safe to say that serious health problems will begin.
But God made provision for us to be active beings. He designed our bodies so wisely and embedded within them the laws of health and happiness, weaving them together in harmonious unity, that when I live by these principles, my body brings joy to my heart by producing hormones associated with happiness. Physical activity contributes greatly to my good mood and my sense of purpose.
Although I should not build my happiness on physical activity, since illness and accidents can change everything very quickly, without movement my life will turn into a meaningless existence and bring many problems into my beautiful little house of happiness.
One of the bricks of happiness is the material called ‘I Work,’ and physical labor involves both bodily activity and spiritual engagement.
In the modern world, people sometimes use expressions such as ‘mindless work’ to describe physical labor as something that requires no particular intelligence. I try to avoid such expressions, because a thinking person does not stop thinking while working with his hands. At times, one must be extremely attentive and careful in order to perform a task accurately and correctly.
I have noticed that when I work with my hands, my mind is also able to receive needed information or do something useful. Therefore, when I do not need to communicate with coworkers during working hours, I can use my phone to talk with friends or listen to something beneficial. This has become a habit for me. Yet many people do not understand how one can work and address important matters at the same time. But the Lord teaches us even this. Of course, in order to write or read something, I have to stop and turn my attention away from the work.
I cannot speak for everyone, but my mind also absorbs information very well while I am physically occupied. Then, when my body is at rest, my mind continues working and looks for yet another task to engage it.
When God created humanity, He united mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical powers in one body and designed our organism to be harmoniously engaged in all these areas of life.
Today many people understand physical activity to mean following a specialized exercise program on machines at a gym. But that is not so. Physical activity begins the moment I rise from the couch or chair and start moving. My movements may vary, but they are active.
The comforts and conveniences of civilization have also brought particular illnesses that might otherwise never have existed. Back pain, indigestion, depression, stress, and other problems have swept over our civilized society like an avalanche. If I always choose a car instead of walking, this may affect my health. And if all my work is centered on a computer, or if I have to spend a great deal of time sitting for other reasons, I should look for an additional activity that will give my body physical exercise and get my blood circulating.
When a person stops moving and remains in one position for a long time, the blood no longer flows through the vessels at the same speed, and all the processes that cleanse and supply the cells slow down. If the brain is occupied with important or interesting questions, blood is directed toward that organ, while the body receives no additional nourishment from the bloodstream. If this happens continually, the body adapts to such a routine and decides to weaken muscles and organs it considers unnecessary so that it will not spend its resources on them. And troublesome ailments are only waiting for this opportunity to fill every space they are allowed to occupy.
Physical activity helps prevent and reduce many illnesses. Purposeful exercise of the body and muscles gets our blood circulating very effectively, allowing it to nourish the whole body with beneficial substances while clearing harmful and stagnant waste from our blood vessels and body.
Gyms have not always existed, so there is no reason to be discouraged if there is not one nearby. You can simply walk at a brisk pace and devise many exercises for the body that require no special equipment.
Morning exercise helps keep the body toned and brings it into an energetic rhythm for the new day.
The various machines in a gym can help develop certain muscle groups that are difficult to train in other ways, but special wisdom and caution are needed so that you do not overdo it or place excessive strain on your heart and body. Such strain can lead to injuries or particular illnesses and hasten your death.
Temperance must be present in every area governed by the laws of health.
Only love and concern for the happiness of your friends can be practiced without measure; everything else requires wise self-control.
Physical exercise gives the body a special beauty, grace, and flexibility. You realize that your body is beautiful when it develops in harmony with the laws of health.
The enemy of souls took note of this quality and decided to make the body an object of worship, so that people would pay more attention to their outward appearance than to their spiritual condition. If you look at magazine covers, happy people smile back at you whose bodies conform to all the standards of our time. They appear so perfect that it seems we should imitate them, doing everything possible to reach that ideal through years of training and financial investment. It is also interesting that some people are willing only to pay for someone to make them beautiful, while making no personal effort and engaging in no physical activity. Advertising teaches that to reach the ideal, you need to eat, drink, or buy something special.
But if you have an expensive car or a great deal of money, you may look however you please. You will be considered attractive no matter what you look like. The world believes this and places such people on a pedestal. If I am a billionaire, for example, it does not matter what my health or appearance is like: the power of money makes my every word authoritative and persuasive—and makes me attractive as well.
My body, however, needs harmonious physical exercise combined with mental and spiritual activity. It has no interest in my wallet. It obeys its own laws, which are not tied to money or to the customs of this world.
Love teaches me that I am a person full of life, created not for whatever is fashionable or in demand, but for active service and growth.
We all know that stagnant water turns foul, and the same laws operate in my body.
Bible verses for this chapter:
Proverbs 6:6–11; 10:4–6, 26; 12:24, 27; 13:4; 19:24; 22:29; 24:30–34; Matthew 16:26; 25:26; Ecclesiastes 9:10; 10:7