WRONG HABITS THAT THREATEN ...........Divine Health

INTRODUCTION

The human body is the container housing our Spirit and Intellect.  Our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and it is the Lord's and must be kept free from sin.

The believer is expected to live in divine health as our Lord was never reported to be sick throughout His days on earth.  But sin and wrong habits that threaten our divine health aspirations.

They include:

1. Bitterness - If you hold bitterness, grudge, anger and any kind of unforgiveness against anyone, you put your spirit-man into bondage.  When you are holding someone in your heart, you are holding yourself in the spirit.  When you imprison yourself through bitterness, anger, envy and strife, you become spiritually sick...and with time the spiritual sickness will become physical sickness, and usually the Killer kind of sickness is what the body develops as a result of spiritual sickness.

CONSEQUENCES OF WRONG HABITS - Diseases 

Some common killer diseases caused by these killer habits include: 

(1) Obesity: This is an excessive accumulation of fat in the body which leads to great increase in weight. It is determined by the index of BMI (Body Mass Index) whereby the weight in kilograms is divided by the height in metres squared. Overweight is defined as a BMI of 25 to 29.9, while obesity is defined as a BMI of 30 or more. The primary cause of obesity is consumption of more calories (food) than the body needs or uses. It is also caused by insufficient exercise. Obesity favours the development of many other diseases such as diabetes mellitus, gall stones, hypertension, inguinal and hiatus hernia, varicose vein, uterine prolapse and tiredness from overwork on the heart and lungs. 

(2)Diabetes mellitus: This is a metabolic disease characterized by excessive urination (with sugar in the urine), weight loss (due to excessive urination), excessive craving for water, and general body weakness. It has an attendant raised blood-sugar level as a result of inadequate secretion of a hormone called insulin. Contributory factors are overeating, alcohol consumption, excessive craving for sweetened/sugary foods and drinks. This, if not well controlled, will affect many other systems of the body and can cause diseases and/or untimely death. Change of feeding habit, regular exercise, and weight-shedding will go a long way to prevent diabetes.

(3) High Blood Pressure (Hypertension): High blood pressure means high pressure (tension) in the arteries. The arteries are the vessels that carry blood from the heart to all of the tissues and organs of the body. Normal blood pressure is between 90/60 and below 140/90mmHg. Thus, a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg and above is considered high blood pressure. The top number, which is known as the systolic blood pressure, represents the pressure in the arteries as the heart contracts and pumps blood into the arteries. The diastolic pressure, which is the bottom number, represents the pressure in the arteries as the heart relaxes after the contraction. The diastolic pressure, therefore, reflects the minimum pressure to which the arteries are exposed. 85-90% of people with high blood pressure have primary hypertension where the cause is unknown. 10-15% of people have secondary hypertension which is caused by other ailments such as kidney disorder or hormonal disorder. Hypertension can lead to heart-disease, stroke, paralysis and death. Predisposing factors include obesity, diabetes, emotional tension, stress and heredity.

(4) Tuberculosis: Tuberculosis is a chronic bacterial infection. It is spread through the air and usually infects the lungs, although other organs and parts of the body can be involved as well. Most people who are infected with tuberculosis at the latent stage harbour the bacterium without serious symptoms. Symptoms associated with this stage include weight loss, fever, night sweats, and loss of appetite. If the affected individual is adequately treated, he gets cured. However, if left untreated, the latent TB will degenerate into the active TB disease, which has chronic and debilitating symptoms, including severe cough, chest pain, and bloody sputum. 

(5) Cancers: Cancer is a disease of cells. It is an abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasize (spread). First, cells begin to grow out of control in the body. Second, those cells have the ability to travel from their original site to other locations in the body. If the spread is not controlled, cancer can result in death. The most common forms of cancer are skin cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer (mostly in women), and prostate cancer (mostly in men).

(6) HIV/AIDS: AIDS is a chronic, life-threatening condition caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). By damaging or destroying the cells of your immune system, HIV interferes with your body's ability to effectively fight off viruses, bacteria and fungi that cause disease. This makes you more susceptible to certain types of cancers and to opportunistic infections your body would normally resist, such as pneumonia and meningitis. The virus and the infection itself are known as HIV. The term Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is used to mean the later stages of an HIV infection. Immoral sexual relationship, use of infected sharp instruments like needles, tattooing instruments, razor blade, shaving instruments, and transfusion of infected blood could cause HIV/AIDS and its attendant problems.

Why should we take care of our body

Our-body-is-God's-temple

The body is so important to the soul that the soul cannot live without the body. No matter how you can pray and preach, if the body is afflicted by sickness, you cannot do anything till you recover. The battle for your wholeness, your good health is a primary battle in life.  Who soever is careless with his body and his or her  health is regret later in life.

There are few other reasons that should make you to be health conscious. Here are some of them:

It glorifies God

You’re taking care of your body –  His temple glorifies Him.  When you have enough strength and energy to fulfill God's purpose in your life, it glorifies God .  In 1 Corinthians 10:31 the bible says "Whatever we do we’re to do it to the glory of God. It also tells us in Isaiah that we were created and formed by God to glorify Him.  This is our primary purpose in life – to glorify God. We do that when we care for our body and live a healthy lifestyle.

The Holy Spirit lives in us. The Spirit of God  actually lives in us by faith and by the word. The desire to live well and strong is necessary for those that wants to live long and strong

You’re God's creation

Ephesians 2:10 helps us see that we are God’s masterpiece, created after the image of God and Christ is the closest image of God we can relate with and when Christ was on earth, there was no record that he fell sick or was hospitalized...NO!.  This truth should motivate you to speak health to your body and its component parts.  There is no sickness in heaven and all sickness is from the devil, and that is why Jesus gave us power over the power of the enemy to rebuke, bind and cast away demons of affliction, infirmity and sickness.

If you value your destiny and desires to fulfill it, and your relationship with the Lord, you are likely to be taking good care of your body and your health.  If your relationship with God is important to you, and you’re not taking too good care of your body, you should know that on this earth, without a healthy body, you are limited in a huge way, which you cannot afford. So start taking care of your body and health.

FIRE...