Much emphasis has been given to the subject of wellness in our culture. More and more people are endeavoring to create lives of motivation and meaning, searching for ways to deepen their existence through such practices as meditation, proportioned meals, mindfulness and flexibility training, to name a few.
What does it mean to be well? There are many definitions of out there, but my favorite is the one is cited by the National Wellness Institute:
Wellness is a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full one’s full potential.
The key is ‘potential’. The fact is wellness is not some destination we arrive at, it’s a journey we are always on. That is to say, to be ‘well’ is to continuously seek ways of expanding our meaning, our value and the pursuit of the life we cherish.
The Bible is not a “treatise” on exercise; believers are not instructed on the intricacies of wellness. But because we serve a God is above all and in us all, we know that God desires our wholeness – God wants us to be well in our body, mind and spirit! The Apostle John intimates this in his letter, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health, and that all may go well with you, even as you soul is getting along well.” (3 John 1:2 ESV).
The question is how do we optimize our wellness as believers?
Several key factors play into this optimal pursuit, but its point of departure is God.
One, optimal personal wellness seeks to achieve a type of life experience in which the user is less reactive and more responsive to one’s environment. In short, we master our environment; our environment does not master us.
Two, optimal personal wellness is the regaining of choice and personal freedom; it is no longer feeling restrained by the constant presence of religious liturgy and practice, which can act to limit one’s self-expression and sense of belonging.
Lastly, optimal personal wellness reminds us we are not changeless and immutable. Time has dehumanized us, turning us into robotic spectacles that move from experience to experience rotely – never learning, never gleaning its inherent value. The pursuit of wellness reconnects us to our organic nature. The result is more love, more value and more meaning.
For wellness to become an ‘optimal’ experience, it must govern the way we think about our lives, about our bodies and about relationships. It’s not how long we are in relationships; it’s not how often we workout and it’s not about the quantity of relationships we’ve involved with. It’s about quality. Either way, that quality begins with a relationship with God.
Transforming longevity into meaning is the end game of optimal personal wellness.
I recently polled a small sampling of readers who were asked:
“Which is more desirable? A meaningful relationship or optimal personal wellness?
Surprisingly, most respondents chose the latter. Why surprising? Because the human need for companionship and affection runs at a much deeper level than the desire for flexibility, mindfulness, clean eating and sustained concentration. Broken people inhabit broken relationships.
We want to be loved for where we are and who we are as opposed to who we may become. Most people want to be accepted for “who I am”.
Witness the individual with little to offer materially but a lot to offer – as they see it – it terms of love, understanding and affection.
This somehow bucks the negative realities that may exist financially, vocationally and otherwise. We may love powerfully, we believe, in spite of where we are economically and otherwise.
In the ideal world, both of the aforementioned virtues exist in a perfect symmetry. Optimal personal wellness and a meaningful relationship share a common spirit. We find both of these commonalities in our relationship with God.
How to achieve such a utopia is the question. The answer, I believe, is accepting where and who you are, and to push along through life with a dogged determination to become the best expression of what and who you may become in Christ. And know this: God has plans to prosper you and not bring you harm (Jeremiah 29:11).
Be well.
Pastor W. Eric Croomes can be reached at PastorCroomes@Outlook.com or on Facebook at Pastor W. Eric Croomes
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