I’ll never forget the song by Tina Turner “What’s Love Got to Do with It”? What if this same question was asked in the context of health and wellness? And the answer would be: EVERYTHING. The Ten Commandments given to Moses was the moral code showing the Israelites how to love God and how to love people. From loving God to loving people lies the motivation for living a healthy and fit life in this health and wellness bible study.
Loving God
Just the other day I was talking to a friend who happened to be 52 years old and was about to do her second year of fitness competitions. We were talking about training and how the body can be pushed to do far more than we think. It was then I remembered a comment by a lady. It was about five years ago, I, too, was training. I was in the gym doing dead lifts. Just as I had completed lifting 180 pounds, a lady walked by and said “you look like you’re training for the Olympics”. I guess to this lady it would make sense to take my body through such agony if I were training for such an event. But for a bodybuilding competition? I began to question myself too. Why was I doing this? For me, winning a competition, or obtaining a perfectly sculpted body was not even a strong enough motivation. These reasons were not good enough to sustain me. Instead I was totally amazed at God. That He had created a human body that could be trained like an Olympic athlete and molded like clay. I loved Him even more because I appreciated His workmanship. The body was an art piece, designed by Him. It led me into an act of worship for the Artist.
Loving Others
Similarly, the worship of the Artist should lead us also into an appreciation for His other art work. Our love for ourselves as God’s master pieces should extend to others as well, for we are all a part of His unique collection. Our bodies are a work of love—an expression of an artist’s love. It is an expression of the artist’s love for life—for health. As we understand more of what He has given to us, it should lead us into an adoration of Him. We, therefore, show our gratitude by caring for what He has given to us—giving ourselves proper nutrition, exercise and wholesome thoughts. True love is not selfish; it touches the lives of others as well.
What’s love got to do with it? Everything! Love should be the greatest motivation for disciplining our bodies. True love goes beyond ourselves. It, inevitably, should lead us back to the Artist.
