Doctor’s Orders

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith…
(2 Corinthians 13:5)

There is a difference between fitness and health. Fitness is how we look on the outside, our appearance, and the ability to perform at a high level. Health is about the inside, and our ability to fend off illness and disease. We can be fit but not healthy. We may be alive, and well as far as we know, but we have a malady that, left untreated, will spell disaster. This is why, even if we are “fit as a fiddle”, we need to be in the habit of getting a routine exam.

Jim Fixx was a well-known fitness enthusiast who wrote a book called "The Complete Book of Running." He died suddenly of a heart attack. He was strong on the outside, but not on the inside. Terry Fox, the teenager who was logging seventy to eighty miles a day running across Canada with a prosthetic leg on behalf of a cancer foundation, was the epitome of fitness. But he was forced to stop halfway because cancer was found throughout his lungs. He was very fit, but very unhealthy. There are many other stories like this. Perhaps some of these were told to get a checkup, but being fit, they felt, meant that they were healthy. Tragically, this was not the case.

On the other hand, most of us know of someone who has never been sick or needed to see a doctor, and yet who wouldn’t run even if they were being chased. They may not be “the picture of health”, but indeed they are healthy. They may be slightly overweight, they may not be very strong or flexible, yet they are incredibly healthy and have or will live to be of ripe old age.

The truth is we don’t really know if we are truly healthy unless we monitor our health. A disease can creep in unawares, and so it is wise to have that examination. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, it has been said. As a bonus, if health is your number-one priority, your fitness level will probably be better than most anyway.

Think about that in spiritual terms for a moment. Our spiritual lives can become unhealthy, even as we think we are growing in grace. It is more important to be healthy than fit, but for those who want to look good, being fit is more important. We may be spiritually fit, that is to say, we quote a lot of verses, we know a lot of doctrines, we do a lot of ministry, and we say a lot of prayers. However, we might be able to do all of these things and still not be spiritually healthy.

For instance, we may be teaching Sunday school and even seeing the resultant fruit in others’ lives, all the while having a multitude of hidden sins, or perhaps even being unsaved. How many times do we have to see it before it sinks in: a once great preacher who falls short or falls away. God has always given us examples of this. Others seemed more “fit” to be king than David, but God told Samuel “man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 – ESV).

The Apostle Paul said that he kept a good check on his spiritual condition, “lest I myself should be a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27). It’s not how many verses you can quote, or how well you can articulate your doctrine, or how long you pray, that will make the most difference. That is why Samuel told Saul obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). It is about your faithfulness, obedience, and endurance. That is what counts; that is spiritual health.

The Bible says we are to take a look at the man in the mirror, and compare ourselves with the Word of God, rather than look at how we are doing compared to everyone else (2 Corinthians 10:12). How we think we look in the mirror isn’t enough; some people look and only see what they want to see, and others forget about it as soon as they walk away from it (James 1:23-24). Instead, we should “keep ourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 21).

When things are going well we often fail to check our spiritual condition. We may be going to heaven, but sometimes we aren’t as faithful as we think we are. We don’t think we need examination when things are “going right”. We figure everything must be okay because everything seems good; there is a sense of being in the favor of the Lord. We feel content but we grow complacent, and our zeal for the Lord becomes zest for life. This can sneak up on us, and then we are sick and don’t know it until it is a major deal. Peter said “knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability” (2 Peter 3:17 – ESV). To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Don’t concern yourself with power as much as perseverance.

When’s the last time you went to the Great Physician for a checkup?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©