The Verses to read are the following:
Gen 2:15 - Please note Adam was to take care of the garden BEFORE the first sin. WORK was never to be a punishment for sin.
Ecclesiastes 9:10-12 - This talks of working hard and perservering through the things that come our way. We are to understand that bad things happen even when doing the right things, but we are not to let these things consume us but rather we should understand that the God of the Universe is in control. (This is a tangent we took this morning, but it was God led and needs to be in here.)
There are 37+ verses that talk about laziness and here are just a few:
Proverbs 13:4, 20:4, 24:30-34
Once again we need to look back at our ancestors. They didn't drive everywhere, they would walk. There was no electricity. The next time you make meringue, do it by hand with a whisk & let me know how it goes. Do you next load of laundry with a washboard. That should be fun. We have removed all types of natural excercise from our lives, and now that extends to our kids. We don't let our kids out of our sight because we are afraid of what might happen. There are some of us who over protect our kids so badly it leaves them with no imagination to play. We need to put down the remote or the game controllers and get moving. God has made us as dynamic changing, moving human beings.
The following are just a few benefits from excercise:
1. Have you ever thoughtr about why you yawn? It is because your brain needs oxygen. Oxygen is the one element that if we are deprived of it; it will cause you to die. This can happen in 4 minutes. By the way food you can go without for 40 days and water for 4 days.) Excercise increases our lung capacity which in turn helps us intake more oxygen. That is the first thing excercise does for you.
2. How many people around you have some type of chronic disease? A bunch, right? Well the next thing excercise does is to keep us mobile. Heart disease, diabetes, some types of cancer, stress and depression all are directly affected by excercise.
A brisk 2-3 mile walk can significantly decrease your risk of heart attack or stroke. We are made for balance. If glucose gives energy then the more we have in the blood stream the better we are right? WRONG! Too much will make our blood too thick and syrupy. The muscles will only accept so much sugar then they start resisting; insulin becomes in higher demand and the pancreas starts to shut down.Excercise can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes by 2/3s. The lymph system which is a major player in your immune system only circulates with muscle contractions. Excercise is the best solution for stress. It burns up the excess energy before the energy burns us up. Endorphines are released when we excercise and this hormone can single handedly destroy and funk. This is a very shallow explanation on how our bodies are affected by excercise.
So what do we need to take from this?
I am challenging you to 30 min of excercise everyday, that is what we need to commit to, to honor our God with our bodies. This excercise needs to consist of walking/running in some way even if it is in your own living room, sit-ups and push-ups - do 5 more after you start feeling the burn. and the last one is to bounce on your toes with them straight, then pointed out and then pointed in without stopping. When your legs start to burn go a minute longer.
In the book Made to Crave she encourages us this way, "Each lost pound was not a quest to get skinny but evidence of obedience to God."
Ps 73:26 "My flesh and my heart fail; BUT God is my portion forever."
Allow God to be your protion and your strength at you set out to honor him by moving you body.
