A Continuum of Worship

There must, then, be a continuum of worship. There are many stories of individuals being silent with God. Elijah, on Mount Carmel, made a point of contrasting his quiet prayer with the frenzy of the priests of Baal. “Come near to me,” he said to the people (I Kings 18:30). He calmly made his request of God, and it was granted. Later, after he had been fed and rested by the angel, he was treated to a display of thundering awe in the form of a mighty wind, an earthquake, and a fire, “but the Lord was not in” any of them. When he heard the “still, small voice,” or the “sound of gentle blowing,” he “wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave” 19:12. And God spoke to him. David speaks often of meditating alone on his bed at night. Jesus took great pains to find or make time to be alone with God, even foregoing sleep for the privilege.

Most of the time in the Bible, silence seems to refer to individuals alone with God, but in Acts 15:12 the “multitude” (KJV) of elders and apostles at the Jerusalem council were silent, listening to Paul and Barnabas relating the wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. It seems silence is a natural human reaction when new things are being learned, convictions are stirring, and the mind is processing. Silence is the respectful way of listening in many of our societies, although there are also many with a custom of nodding, murmuring, or exclaiming assent, and people from those societies feel anxious and worry that they are not being heard if others listen silently to them.

A little further up the continuum is the quiet conversation between friends: a staple of evangelism. Jesus sat on the rooftop with Nicodemus in the dark and talked to him of heavenly things. (John 3) Paul and Silas sang all night in the stocks, and then told the jailer the story of salvation. (Acts 16:22-34) God was in the earthquake that time, by the way.

Further still up the continuum, we have corporate worship which, in the Bible at least, is nearly always noisy. The Israelites, in particular, tended to make what would seem to our ears to be a cacophony of jubilee at worship. When the ark was brought back home after it had been in Philistia, In 2 Sam. 6:14, 15, there was shouting, trumpet-playing, and dancing. David got excited enough to disgust his wife, who was rebuked by God for her attitude. In 2 Chronicles 5:11-14, when Solomon dedicated the new temple, there were a crowd of singers, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, plus 120 priests blowing trumpets, as well as “other instruments of music,” over which the singers “were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord.” In 2 Chronicles 20, the people are instructed to go out to battle in a whole new (and very strange) formation. No cavalry followed by infantry followed by archers here. No, the temple singers and musicians went ahead, and “sang their enemies to death.” Could we do that with some of our demonic enemies?

In Ezra 3:10-13, the people are so excited that the new temple foundation is laid that they praise God with shouting and trumpets. But some of the old ones who remembered Solomon’s temple were overcome by grief, as well. Here’s how Ezra describes the scene: “Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.”

Do we ever have church services, dedications, or ceremonies where people can hear us from “far away” and don’t know if we’re happy or unhappy? Would we consider that a good thing if it did happen? Even in heaven, we are treated to a description in Rev. 4 of trumpet sounds, thunder and lightning, and the unending calling of “Holy, holy, holy” around the throne of God. The early church in Acts sang and praised God in the temple together. But there were also times in the synagogues and the early churches which were for Bible reading and discussion, or later, reading and discussing the letters sent by Peter, Paul, or other apostles.

All of these things are acts of worship. And all are essential to the Christian walk. Shelly, in our opening anecdote, knew that all of life ought to be an act of worship for a Christian. But she also felt a deep need for a corporate experience of worship that included her overwhelming emotions of joy, gratitude, and love for her Savior. Yet the older members of her congregation felt a need, just as deep, for the quiet, reverent services of their childhood. How can we reconcile these conflicting needs? We could begin by reminding ourselves that none of these worship methods is wrong, according to the Word of God. That worship and praise are to be given from each individual heart in ways as individual as the fingerprint of the worshipper. Ellen White writes:

“We are witnesses for God as we reveal in ourselves the working of a power that is divine. Every individual has a life distinct from all others, and an experience differing essentially from theirs. God desires that our praise shall ascend to Him, marked by our own individuality. These precious acknowledgments to the praise of the glory of His grace, when supported by a Christ-like life, have an irresistible power that works for the salvation of souls.” (White, p 347)

Our personal testimony, our personal form of praise, can be an outreach tool no one else possesses. We can worship privately or in small groups or in any way that our hearts want to show their true, deep feelings for the God of our salvation. When it comes to corporate worship, things get more complex. Some churches have two or more worship services. Others mix and match, which only works if the advocates of each different form of worship respect the forms of the others. There will be no one up front, for instance, insisting (smilingly or not) that if you really love God, you’ll be “on your feet!” Or implying that you are stodgy and unworshipful if you don’t clap. There will be no one frowning or rolling their eyes over the drums or electric guitars. If a congregation is spiritually mature enough to be truly respectful from the heart in regards to each one’s wishes, or even if most of the congregation is that mature and can help the others to grow, this will work, and all sides will learn from each other and find new and wonderful ways to praise God.

And if the congregation is not that mature, if they are still attached to and invested in certain forms of worship as “the only right way,” the problem is far deeper than which songs to sing or how many times to repeat the chorus. This congregation can be helped in only one way; there must be serious and long-term prayer for unity of the Spirit.

What is Worship?

If worship belongs to God, then it’s up to God to define it. If we are really living our lives to please Him and not ourselves, we will not impose our own ideas on Him, but will prayerfully study what He has to say about every aspect of our lives, and learn to follow that. What does the Bible say about worship?

In Old Testament Hebrew, the word translated “worship” is shachah, which, according to Strong’s Concordance, means to “bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship.” If we take this literally, the only two seen regularly in our churches are to humbly beseech and to bow. Crouching, falling flat, stooping, or making obeisance (an old-fashioned kind of low bow made to royalty) are not only rare, but if they did happen many would look upon it with dismay and embarrassment.

In New Testament Greek there are several words for worship. There is one used for ceremonial worship of an idol, and one used for general devotion (for instance, speaking of Lydia, in Acts 16:14, or Justus, in 18:7, as “worshippers” of God). But by far the most common word used is proskuneo, which comes from pros, a prefix denoting nearness to or motion towards, and “a probable derivative of [kuon, dog] (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, (lit. or fig.) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): worship.” We are given the option of taking it figuratively instead of literally. Very few of us today probably fawn, crouch, or prostrate ourselves, at least in public.

Maybe we will learn more useful things by looking at the activities of praise and worship described in Scripture. In the Old Testament, the term worship is often used simply to say someone went to the temple and participated in a feast day. Several places speak of worshipping “toward” Jerusalem or the temple. Perhaps this means literally prostrating themselves toward Jerusalem, as Muslims now do toward Mecca. When a specific action is associated with worship, as in Joshua 5:14, Psalm 95:6, Isa. 46:6, and in a number of verses in Dan. 3, the action is “bowing down.” Nebuchadnezzar would never have known the three Hebrews weren’t worshipping his idol if everyone hadn’t bowed to the ground, leaving them standing, exposed. It is exactly the same in the New Testament. Worship is used as a general term, but the only time a specific activity is described, it is bowing or falling down. See Matthew 4:9 (where the devil trying to get Christ to “fall down and worship” him), 1 Cor. 14:25, and Rev. 22:8. Does all this mean that when we do not prostrate ourselves in our churches, we are not truly worshipping God?

What about praise? What does the Bible have to say about praise? It is beyond the scope of this lesson to get anywhere near the full answer to that question. Praise is mentioned in the Bible over 400 times, and nearly 200 of those are in the Psalms, the songbook of Judaism and early Christianity. The kind of praise the Bible describes is nearly foreign to the Western mind. It is all about symbolism and imagery. There is nothing formal that can be studied or broken down into the formulae so dear to our “enlightened,” scientific minds. Biblical praise is simple, vague, and often redundant. Some Psalms, such as 136 (the antiphonal “For His love is everlasting”) almost seem like repetitive babbling and could be seen as going against Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:7 not to use “vain repetition.”

We need to look at the sanctuary service instituted by God. This was an entirely “audio-visual” service. When David was setting up for the new temple his son would build, he made arrangements for only three jobs. There were priests, for the sacrifice, lighting lamps and candles, and taking care of the showbread; Levites for taking care of the physical plant, and singers and musicians. Dozens of them.

There was no preaching or talking in these worship services, though there were times when the people were gathered and the Torah was read to them. The daily services, weekly Sabbaths, and feast days consisted of sacrifice, mourning, fasting, feasting, singing, and dancing.

Dancing is mentioned twenty-seven times in the Bible, and there are only three stories about it that are negative. The first is the story of the idolatrous orgy the Israelites held at the base of the mountain while God gave the law to Moses. Note that this dance was still done in worship, but false worship. The second is in the prophecy of Isa. 13:21, saying the land will be laid waste and “satyrs” (KJV) or “shaggy goats” (NASB) will dance there. The third is the dance of Salome for King Herod. In every other mention, dance is a positive thing, either of celebration, as when the prodigal son returned (Luke 15), or direct praise to God, as in Judges 21:21, or 2 Sam. 6:14, or Jer. 31:4. That last is an actual promise, in the words of God Himself.

Here are just a few of the actions given in the Bible as ways of praising God.

Singing - Psalm 100:2

Laughing - Psalm 126:2

Shouting - Psalm 5:11, 35:27

Dancing - Ps. 149:3

Raising hands - 1 Tim. 2:8

Clapping hands - Ps 47:1

Playing musical instruments - all kinds of musical instruments! - Ps. 149 and 150

For a concise (and noisy) definition of praise in one Psalm, look at the last one;

Psalm 150:1-6:

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in His sanctuary;

Praise Him in His mighty expanse.

Praise Him for His mighty deeds;

Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.

Praise Him with trumpet sound;

Praise Him with harp and lyre.

Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;

Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.

Praise Him with loud cymbals;

Praise Him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

In fact, there is a song that sounds almost pagan (to modern ears) in Psalm 148 that calls on sun, moon, and stars, waters, fire and hail, clouds and wind, and more, to praise the Creator. This Psalm could perhaps help us build a bridge to our pagan friends. (If we are close enough to them to share this kind of thing, we could talk about how the earth praises the Lord and calls us to do the same, rather than calling us to praise and venerate nature or the earth itself.)

Worship and praise, in other words, were an art form. Or a collection of art forms. God clearly intended it to be a whole body experience. But are there any rules or cautions in the Bible? Yes. There’s one essential rule above all others. Love God, and Him only shall you serve. In fact, it is probably possible to find an example in the Bible of nearly every one of the above actions used for a sinful purpose, for worshipping false gods or harming people. Just like meditation, which can be used to draw near to God (Joshua 1:8) or can be used by wizards to try to contact the dead (Isa. 8:19), our acts of worship, and for that matter nearly everything else we do, can be dedicated to God or not. And “whatever is not from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23) This is a broad and alarming definition, when you think of it. It appears to mean that you can even do right things and if you are not doing them from an attitude of faith, they are wrong!

It is common for some people to tell stories in which someone says that the music young people are listening to is “just like devil music.” The intent of these stories is to prove that there are kinds of music which are intrinsically right or wrong. In clear contrast to this attitude, in fact the Bible nowhere condemns any of these methods of praise. Instead, it condemns false principles and theology. Everything, in fact, that is not “from faith.”

Praise and worship, the Bible teaches, are not an option. They are required from each serious servant of God. At the same time, the techniques are up to us. Why? Because the most basic fact of praise and worship is that they come from the heart. If they don’t, they’re no more true than a spouse or lover learning a speech or practicing an action he or she has been told is good and loving and romantic, but he or she really doesn’t mean. It’s a lie. There can’t be anything worse than worship that is a lie. This is one thing about our Christian life that really is strongly attached to feeling and emotion. God created those, remember. They, like everything else, need

to be dedicated to Him.

But what about reverence? Well, let’s also check out the definition of reverence in the Bible. In Hebrew, believe it or not, it is the exact same term usually translated “worship.” Bow down, in other words. Then there is another word, and this one means to dread or fear. That is the one connected to the English word “awe.” It is a deep respect bordering on fear, a realization that this is the High King of the entire universe, who has enough power in His little finger to turn this world to ash. But doesn’t. An important point to remember.

In Greek, the word translated “revere” or “reverence” means to respect or give regard to. This is closer to our usual definition of reverence in English. Yet somehow reverence has come to be connected in many minds with silence.

Doesn’t the Bible say to be silent before God? Yes, in several places. Eccl. 3:7 says there is a time to keep silence. But the only places that say people should keep silence before the Lord, such as Isa. 41:1 and Zech 2:13, are in the context of judgment and punishment. Personal prayer, meditation and pondering, etc., may all be silent, or at least quiet activities. Jesus says in Matt 6:6 to go to your own room and pray secretly to God.

Spiritual Discipline of Worship

Shelly was a young mother new to Adventism but experienced in Christianity. She had made friends with Ann, a lifelong Adventist perhaps fifteen years older, so she was comfortable asking Ann some uncomfortable questions.

“I was so excited to find this church! Joe and I had studied, and knew the seventh day was God’s Sabbath, but we were just trying to keep it at home. When we went looking for a church that kept the seventh day, we didn’t mind driving an hour to get to this one. We love the people, and the sermons are so deep! We’re learning a lot. But there’s one thing we just don’t understand. Why don’t they worship?”

Ann was startled. “Why don’t we worship? We do worship! We worship God at home every day, and then we come to church for corporate worship, singing and praying together. . .”

Shelly waved her hands. “I know, I know, all of life is an act of worship to a real Christian, but I mean, why don’t they worship?” It took some questioning and listening before Ann discovered that Shelly had heard the phrase “worship and praise songs” for so many years that she literally defined “worship” as singing a certain kind of song, standing, raising or waving hands, perhaps closing the eyes sometimes, or even crying. She accepted that there were many forms of worship, and God accepted them all, but this, and this only, was real worship. She was so excited about God and His truths herself that she simply couldn’t grasp why anyone who felt as strongly as she did could sit or stand quietly, singing “old hymns.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I love some of those old hymns, too! But they’re about God, not to Him. They’re not really worship or praise.” Ann did her best to broaden Shelly’s horizons, to explain that the church members were singing to God, that many of the hymns are, in fact, addressed to Him and that to some people those hymns were just as deeply-felt an experience, but not all people liked to show their emotions so openly in public. That worship styles differ, but they’re all worship. She wasn’t sure Shelly really believed her.

Mary, an older woman in the church, came to Ann, too. “Why can’t that young new family get a worshipful attitude? I try to be patient, telling myself that God is working with them, and when they are more experienced in their spiritual walk, they’ll learn. But they’re so emotional! We are told to stay away from emotional displays! Can’t you talk to them?”

Ann talked and listened to all sides. She encouraged the pastor as best she could when he wanted to start a “praise team” and put Shelly in charge of it. Ann liked the singing, but wasn’t particularly fond of standing so long. But she did it.

This story doesn’t have a happy ending. After Ann moved away, she learned that the church drove out the new pastor who had doubled the attendance, got rid of the praise team, and went back to worshiping God in the only way they believed was reverent. The new people left. The members were saddened, but not surprised. They had suspected all along that the new conversions were only skin-deep. Every Sabbath they pray that God will fill the pews of their sanctuary.

Who decides what worship is? Is it right to make the older members of a congregation uncomfortable in an effort to encourage and keep the younger? Is it right to make the younger members uncomfortable in an effort to please the older? Do we need entire congregations with different styles of worship so that all may find a style they like and worship with others who feel the same? 

Wellness-Trust in Divine Power

Belief in a higher power has been linked to decreased stress levels, lower rates of cancer and heart disease, and a stronger immune system. These are the advantages for the body, but it’s a much greater advantage for the spirit. A belief in God gives us something to hold on to; it gives us something to work for.

When you’re one of God’s children, you’re not alone. You’re not an individual. You’re a part of something greater. By yourself, you might just be a chip off the block, but you’re an important chip in a mosaic that tells a grander story. Each one of us is unique, just as no two piece of a puzzle are the same, but like the pieces of a puzzle we each have a place where we belong, a gap that we were meant to fill. We are not all different because we are all random accidents, born to create more random accidents and die, we are different because we were made different, because we “are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Wellness-Rest

The first thing God did after he created the world and everything on it was rest. “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.” (Gen. 2:2) There are surely many things He could have done instead, but He rested. He looked at His creation and rested. Surely it behooves us to follow His example? Throughout Scriptures God showed us our need for rest. It was so important to Him that He not only included it in the words He gave Moses, but devoted more time to its description than to any other commandment.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8-11)

He gives us the gift of a day without work, not only for us but for those who work for us. He also gave His people feast days, for them to stop working and celebrate Him and each other. He knew, long before modern science rediscovered it, that rest and vacations are vital to maintaining physical and mental health.

Another kind of rest He gives us every day is sleep. He gives us nearly a third of each day to devote to rest and restoration of our minds and bodies. It is a princely gift, and to misuse it would be a shame.

We don’t entirely understand sleep, but we know that it’s necessary. If we don’t sleep we don’t function well and, eventually, our bodies will simply fall asleep with or without our permission. Sleep has two basic stages which we call Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-Rapid Eye Movement. These are named for the movements of our eyeballs during sleep. We know very little about either stage. We know that REM sleep is key to our sleep cycle; if we never reach the REM cycle of our sleep we will not wake up rested. Sleeping pills and alcohol can sometimes interfere with the stages of sleep, causing sleep deprivation. A person can sleep while under the influence of these drugs, but not actually gather much benefit from the sleep.

As discussed earlier in the section on sunlight, our levels of the hormone melatonin, the sleep hormone, increase when it gets dark. These continue to increase as it gets darker, and then begins to decrease when it begins getting lighter (around midnight.) This is one of the things which make us sleep at night. Another is what is called our circadian rhythm, which is an inner time keeper which controls inner temperature and certain enzymes in the body. All these things work together to make us creatures that sleep at night. There is some difference among people as to whether they tend to be more alert in the evenings or in the morning, but most healthy people do tend to sleep at night unless there’s an outside force affecting their system.

The average adult needs eight to nine hours of sleep every night, and it’s important that the sleep schedule remains relatively constant. Sleep at the “wrong” time in your cycle gives you much less benefit. Sleep deprivation can cause many mental and physical side effects including impaired motor skills and a decrease in cognitive performance.

Wellness-Air

Our lungs are one of the many amazing structures God built into our bodies. Breathing is not something most people think about until they are unable to do so. Our lungs are one of our biggest contacts with the outside world. If eight glasses of water every day seems like a lot, compare it to the 2,100 to 2,400 gallons of air we inhale and exhale each day every day (Lungs). We pull air in through our mouth and nose, through our windpipe, and into our lungs which are divided into many tiny sacs called alveoli. Each lung contains enough alveoli to cover about the area of a tennis court (ibid.). This might seem like a huge amount of air, but our bodies require huge amounts of air. About 90 percent of our bodies’ energy is created by oxygen (Oxygen).

After we breathe the air into our lungs, some of the oxygen in the air is absorbed by our lungs. At the same time, our bodies discard the carbon dioxide which is a byproduct of our body’s energy conversion process. The oxygen is then carried by red blood cells to where it’s needed. Our brains take up the largest amount of oxygen; about a quarter of our oxygen goes straight to our brains. The rest goes to cells in other parts of our bodies. The red blood cells then carry carbon dioxide, discarded by the cells, back to the lungs to be exhaled into the air.

Our cells use the oxygen to produce energy. Oxygen is like gasoline for our cells; without it our cells will not “run.” Cells need oxygen to perform their basic functions. Without oxygen, our hearts would not be able to pump, we would be unable to digest, our brains would be unable to process information, and we would be in a very bad case indeed.

It’s easy to see why oxygen is important to us, but the question becomes what can we do? How can we make sure our bodies have the oxygen they need to be healthy? There are many ways we can help our bodies receive the necessary oxygen. Here are some of the most important.

Fresh Air: Dr. Bernell Baldwin has written of the importance of fresh, clean, outdoor air, as opposed to re-circulated indoor air. Why fresh air? He cites the chemical difference in fresh air (the negatively charged oxygen molecule) as being the vital difference. He lists several advantages of this difference, including a better sense of well-being, an increased ability to relax, and the mildly antiseptic effect of fresh air on airborne bacteria and viruses. Even before the chemical composition of air was understood, fresh air was known to have a beneficial effect on people. Ellen White, in her book Education, speaks to the importance of “recreation in the open air.”

Exercise: Aerobic (meaning “with air”) is exercise which increases the amount of oxygen absorbed by the body. It increases the amount of oxygen our bodies can absorb, as well as having many other health advantages. Forms of exercise that can be practiced out of doors are ideal. This can be anything from brisk walking, jogging, playing tennis, swimming, cycling, or anything else that gets your heart pumping.

Deep Breathing: Deep breathing is breathing in a deliberately slow, relaxed manner. Most adults breathe very shallowly, using our chest muscles instead of our diaphragms. The diaphragm is a layer of muscle in between our lungs and our lower organs. Its contraction and expansion causes us to breathe deeply, utilizing more of our lungs. This helps oxygenate our tissues and relieve built up tension. Tension causes us to tense our muscles which restricts our breathing, as well as the flow of blood, and thereby oxygen, through our bodies. Not only do deep breathing exercises help us temporarily, learning to breath with our diaphragms on a daily basis will help our oxygen intake.

Posture: Your mother was right on this one. Standing up straight relieves pressure on your lungs and internal organs, allowing your lungs to do their work better. If you sit a lot on a daily basis, it’s important not to slouch, as this also will constrict lung function. If it’s an option, there are ergonomically designed office chairs and chair covers which help with posture.

Wellness-Temperance

There are many extremes on this planet, many of them related to some evil even if they initially appear delightful. People in their search for God have pursued many paths. Some have sought refuge in self-denial. Some starve themselves or beat themselves in an attempt to earn their way into heaven, or to achieve some state divorced from the so-called “carnal.” Some have pursued a very different path, seeking every excess in trying to find some pleasure that would make everything worth it, that would make them stop wanting to seek God. God shows us in the Bible that neither of these things are his will. In Eden he gave Adam and Eve “every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.” (Gen 1:29) He obviously meant us to enjoy what He gave us.

When Jesus was here on earth, eating and drinking with the people, He was accused of being a glutton and a drunkard by those who adhered strictly to a healthy Jewish diet. (Matt. 11:19) We know that he was not truly a glutton or drunkard, since both are denounced in (Proverbs 23:2, 23:21, 26:9). We can, however, extrapolate from this passage that he did feast. He was not an ascetic.

Clearly God’s will for us is temperance and moderation. This means avoiding the more damaging substances we can put into our bodies, which can cause permanent damage, death, or birth defects. Any of these would be a very high price to pay for one experience of euphoria. Drunkenness can lead to other situations as well, such as unwise sexual contact, and unnecessary risks which can result in death. These are things which must be considered. If we plunge into them without thinking, the results could be more than we bargain for.

There are some forms of intemperance, though, which are very acceptable in our society, and even in our churches. Overwork, overeating, overindulgence in various forms of entertainment, all these things are included in this biblical injunction against intemperance. When you’re on the couch in front of the TV, a big bag of chips beside you and the remote in your hand, you are still the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Wellness - Sunlight

“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.” (Malachi 4:2) The sun is one of God’s amazing creations: a giant ball of hydrogen giving the earth its major source of energy. The sun gives us heat and light; it makes photosynthesis possible, and gives us beautiful displays like sunrises and aurora. The sun has a strong psychological role, completely aside from its physical health benefits.

In an age where the fear of cancer is always in our minds, sunlight is avoided to an extent which is unhealthy. When the sun hits our skin, a chemical in our skin absorbs some of the light and produces vitamin D.This is one of the only ways we get vitamin D; it rarely occurs naturally in food. Older people or people with certain disorders may need to take vitamin D supplements. This should be done with caution, as too much vitamin D can also harm the system.

Vitamin D is important for healthy bones. It regulates calcium and phosphorus in the blood and performs other tasks relating to bone formation and maintenance. Lack of Vitamin D can cause weaker bones and increase the risks of breakage. A study done at the University of California linked healthy vitamin D levels to lowered rates of certain types of cancer. (Edwards) Overexposure to sun can cause damage in the form of sunburns and suntans. Neither are good for the skin, and it is believed that only a few minutes outside a few times a week is enough for a healthy person to produce sufficient levels of Vitamin D. In northern climates during the winter, this may need to be daily. But it doesn’t have to be hours on a beach, or worse yet, in a tanning booth! Skin is very fragile, and we only get one. We need to protect it well.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is a depressive and seasonal mood disorder. The shorter days and weaker sunlight of the winter months cause higher levels of melatonin in your body. Melatonin is the sleep hormone; melatonin levels naturally rise when it gets darker. This is why we sleep at night. Serotonin is the hormone of wakefulness and alertness. It naturally increases when you are exposed to bright light. So, in the winter months when there is less light, your serotonin levels tend to be lower, and your melatonin levels higher. The sun is more than just a placebo effect; the brightness of the sun actually triggers hormonal changes that tend to make you happier. In some cases, doctors prescribe light treatments instead of drugs to increase serotonin levels and give sufferers of SAD more energy and less depression. In the Bible, the sun was used as a symbol of righteousness, glory, and hope. Matthew 13:43 says, “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” What does it mean to shine like the sun? Perhaps we will give happiness to others in the way the sun gives us happiness. Perhaps we will shine our light, God’s light, everywhere, enabling other people and other things to be what God meant them to be.

Wellness - Water

A human could, if circumstances warranted, survive about a month without food, but only about a week without water. Our adult bodies are about 70 percent water, down from 80 percent when we were born. Water is what makes our blood liquid. Our brains and muscles are 75 percent water. When our bodies run low on water, they have difficulty performing their basic functions. It’s no wonder it’s so important to our survival.

Water does many things for our bodies. It helps control our internal temperature by insulating the body from cold and by shedding excess heat. Most of our cells are composed primarily of water and without water they could not perform their basic functions. It also helps our kidneys rid the body of toxins and is the biggest part of our blood and lymph systems.

It’s estimated that 75 to 90 percent of us do not drink enough water. And many of us may suffer from dehydration every day without realizing it. Some of the initial symptoms of dehydration are dry mouth, sleepiness, muscle weakness, headaches, and dizziness. In its more severe form, it can include confusion, irritability, dry mouth, lack of sweating, decreased urination, dry skin, rapid heartbeat, and many other unpleasant results. In most of us our symptoms never become extreme enough that we take them very seriously, but a low-level dehydration over a period of time is not good for our bodies.

How much water we need is to some degree a question open to debate. The commonly accepted amount for an adult is eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day, though some doctors recommend more. Eight is the recommended minimum in most cases. Pay attention to your body; if you show symptoms of dehydration, then drink more. If you’re sweating a lot due to temperature or physical labor, then you should drink more water accordingly. Some people schedule water drinking into their lives. Some people carry around a water bottle with them all day long and drink from it regularly. Whatever you decide to do, it should be something that works for you.

Clean water, in particular, is what our systems require. Spring water is ideal, or water from a good, clean well. Part of making sure we stay healthy is making sure that future generations have enough clean water to drink. Be conservative with your water use. Something as small as turning off the water while you brush your teeth can have surprisingly big results over time. Make your showers are shorter. Wash the car less frequently, and trust nature to provide enough rain, in most instances, for your lawn. Be careful what household cleaner and fertilizers you use: don’t use chemicals that will hurt our water, and us.

Wellness - Exercise

Sometimes exercise is put as the base of the pyramid, to show that it’s just as important to your health as what you eat. Exercise is crucial to a healthy body. God made our bodies to move, and if they do not move they fall into disrepair. When our daily lives are not physically active on their own, it’s our job to make sure our temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) are well cared for. Exercise has many benefits, and not all of them are solely related to our bodies.

1. Exercise can help prevent or manage many diseases such as heart disease, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and even some kinds of cancer.

2. Exercise can help you regain and/or maintain a healthy weight. Exercise burns calories, which helps in weight loss and management. It also improves muscle tone.

3. Exercise releases endorphins in the brain. Endorphins are neurotransmitters associated with happiness and a sense of well-being. Exercise can help reduce depression and anxiety. It also helps reduce tension and relieve stress.

4. Circulation is increased by regular exercise, not only circulation of the blood, but also circulation of the lymph fluids stored in body tissues. Improved circulation helps your cells get the oxygen they need to do their jobs well.

5. Regular exercise strengthens the heart and lungs. Not only will this help prevent certain types of diseases, it will strengthen the heart and lungs and help them work more efficiently. You’ll find you don’t tire as easily and you have more energy.

6. Insomnia and other sleeping problems can be helped by exercise. Being more active during the day will help you fall asleep when night comes.

7. You don’t have to do something you hate in order to exercise; find something you like to do, or something you want to learn to do. Have fun with it.

Exercise doesn’t have to be a despised activity. It can just be a walk around the neighborhood, or a bike ride. Take up a new sport like tennis or rock climbing. Find something you really enjoy. If motivation is a problem, try to get an exercise partner. If you’re trying something new, your partner could be a mentor, or perhaps just someone else interested in learning.

Wellness - Nutrition

Nutrition is a too large a subject to be covered in so short a space. This is simply an overview, some principles to keep in mind in trying to find the diet which is ideal for you and for your body. Finding your ideal diet will take time, thought, patience, and, if possible, input from people who know their stuff.

One important thing to remember in any discussion about diet is that everyone is different. There isn’t one “miracle diet” which works exactly the same for every person. There are principles which can be universally applied, but it’s important to remember that diet is not one-size-fits-all. What works for another may not work for you, and what works for you may not work for another. With this in mind, we must be careful not to dictate the food choices of others, or allow others to dictate our choices.

The original diet given to humans in Eden was “every plant with seeds on the face of the earth and every tree that has fruit with seeds” (Gen. 1:29), which is a bit different from the modern diet, even a vegetarian one. This diet includes only nuts, legumes, fruits, grains, and vegetables with seeds. In Genesis 3:18, when God tells Adam and Eve to leave the garden, he tells them that they “will eat plants of the field,” which is taken by many to mean that at that point they began eating leaf, root and tuber vegetables (plant parts which do not have seeds.) After the flood God broadens the menu even further (Gen. 9:3,4), saying “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.” It is clear, however, by the injunction to take different numbers of “clean” and “unclean” animals, that there was a difference, even then. In Leviticus 11 there is a more detailed description of what may and may not be eaten.

There are many things we can learn from this. One of them is, of course, what the human diet was originally meant to be. Another thing we learn is that diet is not a moral issue. Morals do not change, whereas what God told us to eat changed several times. Another thing we can take from this is that our needs as a race change as the earth gets progressively worse. When Adam and Eve left Eden, which was perfect and provided them with perfect nutrition, the world was no longer perfect, and so provided them with imperfect nutrition. God told them what to eat to compensate, at least partly, for this lack. After the flood, which destroyed the world and probably

rearranged the topsoil entirely, God again told them how to supplement their diets to compensate for the lacking nutrients. Now, thousands of years later, the earth continues to “wax old like a garment” (Hebrews 1:11) and the earth provides us with poorer nutrition than ever. Now we may sometimes need to supplement our diets with additional vitamins and nutrients to obtain optimal health.

Different sources will give you slightly different nutritional information, but not too different. Often the amount of different foods required each day are made into a pyramid. The base of the pyramid is grains, since that is what we require most of, and the ascending layers are foods we need less of.

1. Bread, rice, cereal, and pasta are all grains or grain products. We should eat six to 11 servings of these every day. It’s best if we eat a variety of grains, as opposed to just one kind, and at least half of our grain intake should be of whole grains. The importance of grains in our diet was referenced by Jesus when He called himself the bread of life (John 6:35). He should be the base of our spiritual pyramid in the way that bread is the base of our nutritional pyramid.

2. Next are fruits and vegetables. Ideally, we should eat three to five servings each day of vegetables. Fruit is on the same layer with vegetables and we should have two to four servings per day.

3. Milk, yogurt, cheese—two to four servings daily. A vegan diet excludes this part of the pyramid. In a vegan diet, it’s very important to be sure you have enough calcium, which is found in foods such as tofu, rhubarb, collard greens, spinach, turnip greens, okra, white beans, baked beans, broccoli, peas, brussel sprouts, sesame seeds, bok choy, and almonds. Vitamin B12 may be deficient, so vegans should consume flaxseed oil, walnuts, and other foods that are sources of B12. Even then, they may need to supplement as well.

4. Protein group, two or three servings daily. This is on the same level as the previous item. In a vegetarian diet this consists of beans, nuts, and products made from beans and nuts, such as vegetarian meats which are often made from soy protein and may be fortified with B12. This food group also includes eggs.

5. Fats, sugars, and oils use sparingly. Fat and sugar are both necessary parts of our nutrition, but for the most part, a balanced diet will provide the body with plenty of both. There are certain oils which contain nutritional value in their own right, but oils should never be overused.

Portion control is a constant battle for many people, and the way food is packaged and sold does not help. Many people do not eat terribly unhealthy things, they simply eat too much of them. It’s diffcult to eat “about 15 chips” when the entire 16 oz. bag is staring you in the face. Temperance is an important element of diet. Most of us eat foods we don’t even need. We just feel like eating and so we do. Stop and think about how you’re feeling. Are you eating because you actually need food or because it’s sitting in front of you? Don’t eat food you don’t need.

Any gardener will tell you good soil grows good food. Anyone who has tasted food fresh from a garden knows that food tastes best when it’s picked ripe. The problem with food you buy at the average grocery store is that most of it is grown hundreds of miles away, picked while green and chemically ripened to sell on store shelves. Much of it is genetically altered, and there is no way to tell what has and has not been genetically altered. In the case of meat, there is almost no way to know how the animal was raised, how healthy it was, or how it was killed. As much as possible, it’s important to know where your food comes from. Even if you’re not in a position to grow your own food, there are farmer’s markets and places that sell local foods which are becoming more available. Even things like flour and cornmeal can often be bought locally. This way you know exactly where your food came from and who grew or raised it.

Wellness

The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (WHO Preamble) This definition is consistent with the biblical principles of healthful living, which often addresses the issues of physical health alongside the issues of mental or spiritual health. In Jeremiah 33:6 God promises He will “heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.” Health is not simply being free of mental and physical disease; it is a wholeness of mind and body which lets us live our lives to the fullest.

As Christians, we know God calls us to honor Him with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20). The health of our physical bodies is tied to our emotional, mental, and spiritual health. We are not simply a collection of parts which operate independently; we are an entire self which is interdependent. A preacher related the following story in a sermon to demonstrate the importance of church unity: “I broke my wrist once. The rest of me was very concerned. The rest of my body was so concerned that it stayed up all night worrying about my wrist.” What happens to one part of our body affects the rest of our body in the same way that what happens to our spirit affects our body. Often the effects of emotional or spiritual trauma on our bodies are much more apparent than the effects of physical wear and tear on our spiritual or emotional health. When we are angry, our temperature rises and hands clench. When we are shocked we feel cold and tremble. But our physical bodies affect our spiritual selves as well. If we do not eat good food or drink enough water, we are listless and find it hard to concentrate. If we do not exercise we are more prone to stress and tension. Our bodies and our spirits are parts of the same creature, and in order to insure the health of one we must insure the health of the other.

The Weimar Institute near Sacramento, California, developed the acronym NEWSTART to represent the principles of healthy living: Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunlight, Temperance, Air, Rest, and Trust. This acronym provides a good formula for real health; not just the absence of disease, but optimum wellness of body, mind and spirit.

Having Good Judgment without Becoming Judges

Once we have studied and discussed and prayed, the one thing we will have learned for sure is that there are few specific, practical rules in Scripture. The rules that we do find are open to individual interpretation, and therefore must be taught by God’s “still, small voice,” not by us. In all our attempts to discern clearly what God would have us do in all these things, we will find ourselves changing positions as we grow, both in age and in spiritual maturity. What is OK for us today will not necessarily be what is right for us at some other point in our lives. That being the case, how can we stand in judgment on another’s decision concerning what is right for them? We can do all in our power to make our influences positive, to encourage others to see that their lives matter not just to themselves, but to God. We can share these questions, and be honest about our own struggles and occasional flip-flopping. But we can’t make anyone else’s decision, just our own (and for our small children). If a friend does not see why she needs to consider God’s opinion, we must be quiet and pray. If a friend who is a Christian says he has prayerfully considered and has come up with a decision that is different from ours, then perhaps we ought to pray and ask God whether we have something to learn from him. But it is also possible that different people, in different situations, with different personalities and needs may get different directions from God. Yes, it really is possible. And that’s God’s business, not ours.

All we know is, Jesus wants us to be in the world, but not of it. And that’s probably as progressive as any other aspect of Christianity and sanctification. On one of His last nights on earth, He talked about this very subject. Eighteen times in Jesus’ prayer in John 17, that word kosmos (world) appears. Eighteen times! That’s worth some study time. Here’s probably the definitive text: “I am no longer in the world; yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. … I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” (John 17:11, 15-16)

As Jesus lived and moved and had His being in this world, as He mingled and loved and worked, so are we to be. As He kept His goals and His citizenship above, so must we. And if He needed thirty years’ training and whole nights in prayer, how much do we need?

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 25)

Spiritual Discipline - Entertainment

Last, but definitely not least, we come to the one popular culture arena that is the most controversial of all. In the first century, even in decadent Rome, no one could have foreseen something known as the Middle Class, a huge stratum of society who have all their needs and most of their wants met, but neither have servants to see to that nor have to spend end-labor to accomplish it, and therefore have leisure time unprecedented in history. On top of that, or because of it, we have also invented and developed something that will be the instrument of the gospel to the whole world, but is mostly put too much lower uses. It’s called Mass Media, including the worldwide explosion of information generally lumped under the Internet.

What about entertainment? In this, there is little direct learning from Jesus’ life in first century Galilee and Judea. In those days, people talked, sang songs or played simple instruments, read if they could, danced folk dances, took walks, went swimming and boated. Archaeology has found throughout the Roman Empire of the first century examples of lewd, evil activities, wild parties and entertainment made of human beings, such as the gladiator contests to the death, watching people eaten by wild beasts. In fact executions of criminals were public spectacles. There is no record that Jesus or any of His apostles ever considered making their way to the Coliseum in Rome, but Jesus did participate in a wedding party, even providing an emergency supply of drink at His mother’s request.

We could spend pages and pages categorizing the forms of entertainment available to us today and trying to make a list of rules. Church people used to do that. No cards. Unless they only have numbers, but without pictures. No movies. Unless you can watch them in the privacy of your home. No dances at all. Once the people raised by these rules grew up and realized the arbitrary nature of them and the lack of a Bible foundation for some interpretations, they tended to throw them all out and do as they pleased. They had never been taught the principles that would enable them to make their own wise decisions.

What are the principles? There are at least two overarching principles we should consider. First, there is time. Jesus believed in relaxation and time out. But look and see how many hours He spent that way. Work “as long as it is day,” He said. “Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4) The second principle might be more controversial. It is this: If it were true, would it be good? Most Christians would never consider hiring (or worse, buying) an exotic dancer. We would be horrified at the thought of watching gladiators or captured slaves brutally fight and kill each other, and would turn our heads if confronted with a crucified criminal. But we seem to think if it’s “just pretend” that makes it OK. We watch movies or shows or play video games of all of the above and worse, never ask if it is pleasing to God.

There is conflict in life, and the Bible shows us that important lessons may be taught and learned by stories of incidents which are not very pleasant (David and Bathsheba, the war stories) or not even true (the rich man and Lazarus). But is there a serious point like that to everything we read, watch, and play?

Questions to ask: Is it true (that is, does it teach a truth?) Is it honorable? Is it right? Is it pure? Is it lovely? It is of good repute? Is there any excellence? Is there any praise? Would Jesus watch/read/play this? (See Philippians 4:8.) We shouldn’t leave this subject without spending at least a moment considering one other question, that of children and youth. Even when something meets all the above criteria, that does not necessarily make it suitable for children and youth. We must first of all know our own children well and shield them, especially when young, from something we know would upset them even if it is suitable to other children their age. Then, we must remember that one of the things we learned from the life of Jesus is that He spent thirty years preparing before He put Himself in the midst of the chaotic life of the people for whom He came. There are things we might willingly share with our older or adult children that we must keep from them until they are ready, and once again, this requires prayer, prayer, and more prayer.