HEALTH

Good health is good. It is certainly preferable to sickness and disease. Occasionally you’ll find some concern for it in Scripture (3Jn.2; 1Ti.5:23). But we should be careful not to cherry-pick from the few biblical passages regarding good health in order to justify today’s wide-spread obsession with it.

Many godly and productive people in the Bible and throughout church history have been plagued with disease, chronic pain, poor health and a variety of physical disabilities. All of which God sovereignly chose to not alleviate. And when God didn’t heal, these godly men and women concluded that even in bad health God’s “grace was sufficient” and that their diseases and disabilities were purposeful (2Cor.12:7-9). They were thoroughly “content with weaknesses” knowing that the biblical goal was never good health to start with (2Cor.12:10).

After all, God has promised that sickness and disease will eventually prevail over all attempts to the contrary (Gen.3:17-19). Yes, fitness and good health are preferable, but they are neither promised nor prioritized for this life. As Paul wrote to the ailing Timothy: “bodily training is of some value, but godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1Ti.4:8).