Balls of Priority - Health

Juggling the balls of life, faith, family, friends, health, and work, is difficult at times because they all desire so much of our attention.  But we have learned that if we don’t prioritize faith as the #1 ball, we are assured we will let the other 4 balls drop. 

The faith ball plays such an important role in the success of the other 4.  Without faith, we fail to know what God desires for the family.  Without faith, we fail to see what God desires in friendships.  Without faith, we fail to discover what God desires for health.

Faith shows us that family, when done God’s way, will result in a family that has success and finds peace.  And God’s way is having wives who respect and submit to their husbands, husbands who love their wives as Christ loved the Church, and children who obey their parents. 

Yet the success of the family relies heavily upon the husband because he should be displaying the greatest love ever shown.  Removing the influence of Satan in a relationship, you give me a husband who loves his wife in the same way that Christ loved the church, and you will see wives that willing submit unto the husband’s leadership and children who will obey.

Faith also shows us that friendships, Godly friendships, are critical to our encouragement, our strength, and our resolve to persevere in our faith.  Satan will always try and stop Godly friendships from connecting.  He does this to keep us alone and vulnerable – to keep us weak and open for attack.  And so faith reminds us that if we want to stop from becoming the Devil’s prey, we must seek friendships that will remind us of our relationship with God.

But today, we’re going to look at how faith shows us what God desires for our health.  And though the scripture doesn’t lay out a specific diet or an exercise regiment for all to follow, it does share with us some very important principles regarding what we do with our bodies, which ultimately effects our health.

Though the jest of what Paul expresses in 1 Corinthians 6: 12-20 is about sexual immorality, there are 3 verses that I want us to focus on in regard to our bodies, our health.

Verse 12….. “Everything is permissible for me – but not everything is beneficial.  Everything is permissible for me – but I will not be mastered by anything.”

Paul was making it very clear to the Church by saying, “You have freedom of choice.  So you’re free to drink, to smoke, to get high, to lust, to fornicate, to commit adultery, to overindulge, to beautify your body with what culture says is beautiful - to do whatever you feel like doing whenever you feel like doing it – but not everything you are free to do is beneficial for you and can actually come to control you.  In fact, that’s why God said not to do them in the first place – to protect you from your own selfish desires.”

A couple chapters later, in discussing food that has been sacrificed to idols, he gives us a godly principle that covers over all areas of life:  “Be careful, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak in faith.  For if what you do in your freedom causes someone to fall into sin and wounds his/her faith, then you have sinned against Christ.  Therefore, if what I am free to do causes someone else to sin, then I will deny myself these freedoms so that I will not cause him/her to fall.”

In other words, he was saying this Godly principle, “Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.”

But freedom in Christ isn’t really free when you consider the costs of what God is asking you to sacrifice.  Freedom in Christ comes with self-denial, yet alleviates me from becoming a slave to the things I so desire to do.  Freedom in Christ improves my health, both mentally and physically.

It all makes sense:  

1. If I never drink, I never have to worry about becoming an alcoholic. 
2. If I never smoke or take a stimulating drug, I never have to worry about being addicted to a substance. 
3. If I deny myself from lusting over sexual desires, my chances of fornicating or committing adultery are reduced drastically. 
4. If I never beautify my body with the means that are out there, then I never become consumed with the idea of wanting more and more.  
5. If I deny myself my freedoms, I never have to worry about causing someone else to fall into sin.

But after Paul addresses freedom, he then reminds the Church in verses 19 & 20 the reason why self-denial is a must:  “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.”

What makes these verses so hard for us to grasp is that we all know the pain and struggles our bodies face; some of it due to the choices we have made and some of it due to the curse of sin handed down from generation to generation.  I know we want to be healthy.  I know we want “6-pack abs” and “buns of steel”.  I know we want our diseases to go away.  I know we want to feel good again.  But, we cannot lose sight that because God gave His best to us in His Son, we are to give our best to Him in honoring Him with our bodies.

We were bought at a price – the price of Jesus Christ crucified.  And because Jesus did this while we were still part of this fallen, cursed world, he paid the ransom to save you and me from our execution day.  

Paul was saying, “Everything is permissible, but you who claim Christ, you who have been given the Holy Spirit, no longer are free to do what you want to do.  Jesus paid for your soul; therefore He is your master.  And Jesus wants you to do only those things that will keep you healthy, your family healthy, and your friends healthy.  Honor God with your body by obeying His commandments.”

And because Jesus paid the price for us we should want to give him our best – our best in everything we do; from what and how we eat, to how we exercise and train, to what we take in and do to our bodies.

You see; our body is not really our body anymore once we accept the ransom paid on our behalf.  We no longer belong to our desires and ourselves.  We now belong to Christ and His desires, which means we pursue the best for our health and body so we can live out our faith to its fullest. 

Balls of Priority - Friends

An anonymous writer wrote:  Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air.  You name them:   work, family, health, friends, and faith, and you’re keeping them all in the air.  You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball.  If you drop it, it will bounce back.  But the other four balls – family, health, friends, and faith – are made of glass.  If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered.  They will never be the same.

 

It’s becoming very clear that all the balls are important, yet faith drives them all.  You take out faith, you become spiritually destitute and find that no other ball can satisfy the void you have in your soul for God – a void that has been felt for countless generations due to man’s rebellion against God as described in the book of Genesis.

 

Yet in the beginning, God created humankind for faith (the ability to choose what God wants = obedience) and relationship; and He also created male and female to create family – to unite as one flesh.   And we learned how our disobedience, our sin, brought on us a curse that still has our faith taking a back seat to other things and our families falling apart.

 

So in the midst of this curse we are looking at how we can fulfill what God destined for humankind from the beginning.  We are looking at how to live sacrificially for God and for others, especially those in our families.  We are looking at how we can keep the balls of life in the air so that we get the most out of all of them.

 

Well, today’ scripture will help us to see the third ball, the Friend ball, and its importance to our faith.

 

1 Thessalonians 2:17 – 3:13 states that Godly friendships strengthen and encourage our faith.  Godly friendships, friendships grounded in relationship to Christ, are friendships that should strengthen and encourage you and me to stay the course in our faith.  They are friendships that inspire us to live more fully for God and less for ourselves.  They are friendships that challenge us to do right when choices are to be made, and to correct us when we do make the wrong choice.  They are friendships that we long to be part of – that feel like family – that bring us joy and hope even with just the thought about meeting together.

 

But Godly Friendships can be stopped from time to time.

 

So what can get in the way of Godly Friendships?  Satan can - “For we wanted to come to you – certainly I, Paul did, again and again – but Satan stopped us.”

 

Why would Satan stop Godly Friendships from coming together?   He relies on weakness to devour his prey.  So if he can keep Godly friends from coming together, he can keep them weak and vulnerable making them more susceptible to his attacks.  If he can stop Godly Friendships from coming together, he knows he can discourage the lone believer, especially in light of the pain, struggle, trial, and persecution he will be bringing into his/her life.

 

But even when Satan can stop the physical connection between Godly Friends, he cannot stop the spiritual connection that exists between them.

 

So why can’t he stop spiritual connections?  He can't stop spiritual connections because Godly Friends pray for one another, they remember how much they enjoy being together, especially when they are apart, and they have the same spirit, the Holy Spirit, living inside them that reminds them that they are in this cause for Christ together.

 

Satan may physically keep you from connecting with those Godly friends of yours, but He cannot stop you from spiritually connecting with them.   He cannot keep you from praying for them.  He cannot keep you from longing to be with them.  He cannot rob you of your joy.   But he can, if you let him:(((

 

The ball of friendship is critical to our faith.  It is critical in that if you only have worldly friends, these friends will not have the desires of the Holy Spirit in mind, and will most likely lead you into temptation.  It is also critical in that if you have Godly friends, these friends will stand by your side encouraging you to stay strong in the Lord.

 

Godly friends help us to grow into spiritual maturity.  Godly friends help us to face all trials and tribulations.  Godly friends help us to stay on the straight and narrow road that leads to life.   And Godly friends must become an important part – a priority - in our faith journey.

 

You see, it’s a choice – a choice between worldly friends, godly friends, or no friends at all.  Which one do you think God desires for the believer, the Follower of Christ?  You are right.  He wants His Children to have Godly friends who can be there for one another to provide encouragement, hope, and accountability.  This in turn will give His Children the courage to befriend those who are not God's Children and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. 

 

Faith, Family, and Friends – all critical in our walk with Christ.  Are you getting your priorities straight? 

Balls of Priority - Family

An anonymous writer wrote:  Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air.  You name them:   work, family, health, friends, and faith, and you’re keeping them all in the air.  You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball.  If you drop it, it will bounce back.  But the other four balls – family, health, friends, and faith – are made of glass.  If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered.  They will never be the same.

 

Weeks ago we started a series on juggling the 5 balls of life, but due to a broken computer screen that was just replaced, I was unable to continue the series on a weekly basis.  So now, I will try to play catchup.

 

With that being said, God shows us in Luke 14 that faith has to be the #1 ball – it is the most fragile making it the most important.  Jesus showed us that faith must be #1 in our lives because it will keep us from dropping the other four.

 

In fact, focusing on faith first helps us to truly prioritize the other 4 – keeping all the balls balanced and in the air.   Focusing on faith helps us to understand what God is looking to see in the other four.

 

So all we have to do is look at Creation to see what God deems most important.

 

First He created humankind in His image to have relationship with them.   He didn’t just create them and leave them to their own.  He came into their presence to commune with them.  He created them for faith.

 

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Him the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’”  Genesis 3: 8-9

 

Second He created male and female to have relationship with one another.  Family was ordained by God from the beginning of time.

 

“But for Adam no suitable helper was found.  So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh.  Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.  The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’ for she was taken out of man.’  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.  The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” Genesis 2: 20-25

 

God has laid out the dynamics of family – man can define it however he chooses, but God has made it clear through the scripture I just shared the true definition.  But today we’re not going to delve into what makes a family.  We know that family takes on many different forms in this cursed world.  Rather we will be seeing how faith, if treated as the #1 ball, helps make family into what God desires.

 

And whether single or married, young or old, scripture always provides us with principles that can be applied to our lives.

 

Paul's teaching on family in Ephesians 5: 22 – 6: 4 is often taken  out of context.  And when taken out of context you see where the curse of sin is involved.

 

“To the woman He said, ‘I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to your children.  Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.’” Genesis 3: 16

 

So on one hand, you have some self-righteous pious men who believe a woman’s sole role is to submit to their authority – that God ordained that they rule over their wives.  So they latch onto verses 22-24 in Ephesians 5.  They use it to keep women in their place.

 

And yet, on the other hand, you have self-righteous irreverent women who believe that men have no headship over them – that women are equal to and even far superior than their male counterparts.  They too latch onto verses 22-24 in Ephesians 5, but to fight against it – to disprove what was written and to live solely for their desires – to defeat the curse.

 

Yet faith, understanding God in the Big Picture, understanding God in context, shows us what God truly desires for the family.  God didn’t desire the curse.  Man chose it through our disobedience.  And so what God is asking His children to do in the face of the curse is to be family the way he destined it to be and live according to the principles He has outlined for all sexes.

 

So God’s Big Idea for us is this:  True Family = Done God’s Way. 

 

In other words, if you want true family, then you got to do it God’s way.  And if you do things God’s way, you’ll get true family.  If you want true family, you have to have faith to understand what God is looking for and then do it His way.

 

You see, the outline of what God had Paul write to the Church – to the believers in Ephesus - was:   Wives submit to your husbands, Husbands love your wives, and Children obey your parents.  But really, it was so much more than that.

 

God puts a “Why” – a reason for doing what He’s asking you to do.  God gives a “Why” because if we will follow His way we will see the fruit of His reward – a family that beats the odds stacked against it in this cursed world.

 

Now before jumping into the “whys”, I want to make these disclaimers:  The word submission is only bad because man has made it bad.  What God established in the beginning was good, and humankind has made a debacle of what true family should look like.  And submission applies to more than just marriage.

 

Now, why should wives submit to their husbands?

 

Everything has an order. 

 

God is saying, “As you submit unto your husbands, you submit unto me.  I am God the Father, Head of all.  Jesus, the Son, submits unto Me and does what I want Him to do.  The Holy Spirit submits unto Me, as well as Jesus, doing what We want Him to do.  The Church is under the submission of Christ who is the Head of the Church.  And the husband, who is the head of the household, is under the submission of Christ.  Therefore, the wife should submit to the husband as this is the order I established.”

 

Submission has its rewards

 

When a wife submits to her husband she is fulfilling God’s plan and will receive His favor.  Not only will she find her joy in the Lord for doing what God desires.  She will also find the favor of her husband who feels lifted up and needed because his wife trusts him to lead.  When a man feels respected and honored by his wife, he will do anything for her.  If she will submit to her husband’s lead, she will be more empowered within the household than the woman who fights her husband to gain that power and equality.

 

Now why should husbands love their wives?

 

Christ sets the example

 

If a husband is a Follower of Christ, he is under the headship of Christ, meaning he is to submit to Christ.  And because Christ so loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, caring for and meeting her needs daily, husbands are to do the same for their wives.

 

Love has its rewards

 

When a husband loves, cares for, meets the needs of his wife, holding no authority over her head, his wife will love him fully and will willingly fall under his headship and submit to his leading.  His wife will trust him because he is doing everything he can to make sure she feels like an equal – which he would die for her if need be.

 

Now, why should children obey their parents?

 

It is a commandment with a promise

 

If children will obey their parents, they will be blessed and enjoy a long life on earth.  This is the promise given.  God established this commandment as one of the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai.  In order for order to happen in a home, within a society, children must obey their parents.

 

Obedience has its rewards

 

If children will obey their parents, it means they will be trusted by their parents.  And the more parents trust their children, the more freedom parents will give to their children.  So God makes it clear:  Obey = Freedom.  If children fulfill their natural desire to live for self, they find their freedoms becoming less and less with each disobedient act.

 

If more families were to live as God has directed – were to place their priority on its’ importance and doing it God’s way – we would see families growing in love and connection with one another.  More importantly we would see families growing stronger in their relationship with God who created family.

 

So in conclusion, to keep the balls of life in the air, we’re beginning to see how interconnected they really are.  But the balls of faith and family are rather similar in that God established that if both are to work, He must be central.

 

Juggling the balls of faith and family can and must be done.  But they must be done according to God’s principles.

 

Faith is the #1 Ball.  If it isn’t, all other balls will fall to the ground.  But if it is, then family will become #2.  And the other 3 will fall into line with these two.

 

So the question to conclude today’s message is:  Are you doing family the way God wants it done?  Are children obeying their parents?  Are adults loving and submitting their wills to Christ, who in turn is calling them to love and submit to others, especially their spouses?

 

If not, start.  You won’t be disappointed by the results – the results will come from God.