From Stephanie Kidman, RN
As followers of Jesus Christ, we know that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, i.e. where the Holy Spirit lives (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19).
If we don’t take care of our bodies and we die prematurely, we will not be available on this earth for the work that God wants to do through us by the power and presence of His Spirit.
Whose responsibility is it to care for this "temple" of ours? There is a spiritual aspect of care, but there are also mental, psychological, emotional and physical aspects of care.
The temple, as previously defined, represents our body. Just as a temple has pillars that support it so our body has certain "pillars" that help keep it functioning optimally. Each pillar is important. If one is weak it may affect the temple. If several are weak they will crumble and in time the temple will fall.
Some of this study will be based on Dr. Colbert’s book The Seven Pillars of Health. He uses Proverbs 9:1 as his text “Wisdom hath built her house. She has hewn out her seven pillars.” The seven pillars expounded upon in the book are 1)Water; 2)Sleep and Rest; 3)Living Food; 4)Exercise; 5)Detoxification; 6)Nutritional Supplements; and 7)Coping with Stress.
My husband, Brian Kidman MD, and I operated Destiny Family Medical Clinic from 2005 to 2018 to help people obtain health and not cut short the destiny that God has for their lives. Thus the name of the clinic: Destiny. One of our main motivations for opening it was to be able to help people get to the root cause of their illness and thus, obtain the health that we believe God desires for all people. He never felt right about writing prescriptions for medications to help with anxiety and depression without offering something that can help our patients deal with the causes of these problems in order to bring about a long-term solution. So at the clinic, we had professionally trained counselors that give Bible-based counseling.
You see, just prescribing medications that don’t touch the soul or spirit of a man can never bring true, long-term healing. We are a spirit, we have a soul and we live in a body. We interact with others in our environment on a continual basis. Our relationships with others, with God, and with ourselves (how we interpret events) all affect our health and well-being.
It is a well-known scientific fact that a great percentage of illnesses are either aggravated or have their roots in mental, emotional (and we believe also spiritual) issues.
With this philosophy in mind I will outline what I feel are the seven pillars of good health (subject to amending as we learn more of course!):
1) Right Relationship with God/Right Image of God
2) Right Relationships with Others
3) Good Mental and Emotional Health
4) Adequate Rest/Sleep
5) Drinking Plenty of Fluids
6) Good Nutrition
7) Adequate Activity/Exercise
Of course you will see overlap in several of these areas because we are an integrated person. When we are having difficulties in our relationships with others we may feel angry, or resentful. When we have these feelings, certain hormones (stress hormones) are released in our bodies and if not controlled can eventually lead to sickness.
An example of how interrelated all the areas or our being are:
You see something disturbing on TV (a show or the news). You have a bad dream and wake up at night unable to get back to sleep for a while. The next day you feel tired and act irritable with your spouse and kids. Wow! One disturbing thought entering your mind affected your sleep, your emotional/spiritual life and your relational life. We are the only ones that can maintain our own temple at its optimal functioning level.