The Minister of God and His Health

God is highly interested in the health of his ministers considering the vital role they play in the fulfillment of his will on earth. They are the Shepherds to raise him a healthy and militant church.

Ephesians 4:11-14 (KJV) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

The Minister's Health is very important because he stands as the ambassador of total health to the world. Through him, the world can experience spiritual healing that comes by the New Birth, and consequently the soul-ish and bodily healing. The Pastor stands to be rated even higher than the medical doctor since he is an agent of total healing and not just of the body.

A healthy minister of God will produce healthy members of the body of Christ that can withstand the tide of evil doctrines and as such cannot stray away. The church of Christ is therefore as healthy as his ministers are.

We don't have to go too far in research to know that the Pastors and ministers of today are not as healthy as they claim. The statistics are all available to show. The increase of depression, dissatisfaction in life and Ministry, as well as increase in suicide rate among us is revealing enough. Many pastors are overweight and suffers hypertension and Diabetes, as well as other lifestyle induced diseases. Aside these lies evidences of weakened spiritual life such as being easily toppled by sexual temptations. This is also evident in the increase rate of divorce in our marriages. Oh, God help us.

Factors responsible for this decadent in the total health among ministers, among others include overwork and lack of effective fellowship life. This eventually leads to both physical and spiritual burnt-out. Financial pressure that never used to be a stressor in ages past for ministers have now become a major factor affecting the health of Pastors. Indeed the end of age has come upon us.

God's definition of total health is as is found in 3 John 1:2. We can only prosper and be in health, even as our souls prospers. In other words, health is not just the absence of ailments, but a state of social, mental, and physical health, that is, spirit, soul and body. This is also in line with WHO definition. To be totally healthy therefore, we must pursue it in line with God's definition and apply God's prescription.

Proverbs 4:20-22 (KJV) My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

The pathway to total health involves giving attention first to the spiritual health. This is attainable by maintaining an airtight fellowship life with the Father. In this fellowship, we enjoy the eternal life we have. 1 John 2:24-25 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life He promised us.

The health of our soul is next in line and must be given attention through meditation and cleansing of the mind. Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. How peaceful shall we live if we could also learn to place ourselves under the examination and scrutiny of God's word.

2 Corinthians 13:5 Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don't drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it.

If we must live long enough to fulfill our ministry on earth, we must give attention to our health in the body. Most pastors are so careless with the use of their bodies. The neglect of the body is one lack of wisdom we engage in. Refusal to take care of our earthly house automatically spells quit notice in death. We take care of the body by being mindful of what we eat and how we eat. In eating, we should avoid too much salt, processed sugar and saturated fat. We also take care of it by being hygienic and exercising it. Most pastors neglect the wisdom of regular medical checkups, the reason for many sudden death among us. Some even neglect the wisdom of taking medications when sick. They spiritualize everything until tragedy strikes. We ought to know that medicine is God's intervention in the realm of men. As occasion permits, we ought to take our medications as appropriate, but also keep applying the word to our soul until total health achieved.

A healthy minister of the gospel will be more effective in ministry and be able to maximize his God given potential. If we are concerned about God's purpose, then we must pursue total health.