Through the Spirit of prophecy this people has received a multitude of counsel regarding healthful living. We know that it is an integral part of our Adventist truth. If health reform is so important, how does the physical aspect affect one's spirituality? Certainly a definite relationship exists between the physical and the spiritual.
First let us consider the nature of man. Man was made a physical being, not a spirit. In fact, man does not possess any entity called a spirit which is capable of functioning apart from the body. This fact is clearly brought out by Solomon when he states that in death "also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished." Eccl. 9:6.
Our physical being is capable of function through the life-giving power of the Creator. This power, however, is not an entity possessing any virtues such as good or evil. It is but energy to motivate the perfectly constructed machinery of the body. That power does not influence you or me to be good or to be wicked. We all share this same force, even the animals. "Yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast." Eccl. 3: 19, 20.
Ellen G. White calls the life-giving power the vital force, and electrical energy. It is the same power of life to which Paul referred in his speech to the Greeks, when he said, "In Him we . . move, and have our being."
Besides possessing this vital force, we must meet other requirements to ensure the proper function of the multiple organs of our bodies. It has been left to us to provide our bodies with the right kind of fuel in order to assure the optimal efficiency of function.
Just as taste, touch, sight, and hearing are functions of the physical organism, so is the mind a function of our brain. The mind is often spoken of in the Bible as the soul, the heart, and the spirit. (2 Cor. 3:14, 15.) In the mind, man interprets the physical stimuli that come from the outside. Besides being capable of response to physical stimuli, the mind is also sensitive to the influence of the Holy Spirit—and that of the evil spirits. It has been left to us as free moral agents to choose the one or the other. (This is the voice of one's conscience, or the still, small voice.)
We read in the Scriptures: "As he [a man] thinketh in his heart [mind], so is he." Our spiritual life, or affiliation, is therefore centered in our mind. Since mind is a function of the physical brain, it is therefore through the function of the physical organism that we appreciate spiritual things.
In order to be able to interpret all stimuli, whether physical or spiritual, to our best interest, it is necessary that our mind be not impaired in its function. Because the mind is one of the activities of the body, it is necessarily influenced by the physical condition of the body.
During sleep the mind is unable to function. Alcohol disturbs the action of the mind. Also, certain diseases, such as encephalitis, high fevers, and arteriosclerosis, affect the functioning of the mind. In arteriosclerosis, which is hardening of the arteries, an impaired blood supply to the brain results, causing deterioration of the tissues of the brain. Its functional efficiency suffers—forgetfulness, mental dullness, and dizziness being but a few of the symptoms.
Because the mind is the seat of spiritual affection, such circumstances as I have mentioned are bound to affect also one's spiritual experience. These are only a few examples which illustrate the direct relationship between the physical and the spiritual.
We may safely conclude that it is through the physical that spiritual things are discerned. In this connection let us read from Ministry of Healing: "The body is the only medium through which the mind and the soul are developed for the upbuikling of character."—Page 130.
In order to succeed in the process of developing our mind and soul, we need to provide our bodies with such fuel as to produce maximum efficiency in function of the various organs. Because there is no spiritual life in death, spirituality is therefore a part of the function of our bodies during life. It is just as much a biological action as breathing or digestion. It is therefore subject to the same conditions as other functions of the body.
"It is as truly a sin to violate the laws of our being as it is to break the ten commandments." —MRs. E. G. WHITE, Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, p. 53. From this we conclude that in the sight of God it is of equal importance to possess physical as well as spiritual health. "It is impossible for those who indulge the appetite to attain to Christian perfection." —Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 57. (The definition of indulge is "favor, gratify, pamper, please, satisfy; yield to the gratifying of a desire.")
"The children of God cannot glorify Him with sickly bodies and dwarfed minds."—Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, p. 53. We will never exist out of the body, whether on this earth or in the earth to come. It is through the physical that we are able to enjoy the blessings of God here, and by the same means we will appreciate the glories of the heavenly home. Our bodies are mortal now, but they will be translated to a perfect state in order to give maximum function, both spiritually and physically. We are held accountable to God for how we use our bodies. (1 Cor. 6:20.)
"He who cherishes the light which God has given him upon health reform, has an important aid in the work of becoming sanctified through the truth, and fitted for immortality."—/bid., p. 10.
"If their moral and intellectual faculties are beclouded, they cannot appreciate the value of the atonement or the exalted character of the work of God, nor delight in the study of His word."—Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 51.
If we keep these principles before the people, it should help in putting an emphasis where it belongs. Full spiritual perception is possible only as the body is kept healthy.
