The Sacred Stewardship of Time: Caring for Our Body

It’s easy to laugh off our need to be healthy in terms of our body. We know that ministry demands are relentless, and our body is often the first thing to get ignored. We pour out, counsel, coach, and preach, all while subsisting on coffee and the endless food that accompanies our church gatherings. We often neglect the very body through which we serve Jesus and His family.

 But the Apostle Paul reminds us that our bodies are the sacred dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Our physical health isn't a distraction from our calling; it is a vital part of our discipleship and it took me a long time to embrace this truth at the soul level. I know this pursuit intimately and it’s one that I battle daily. For me, this journey began with a struggle to find self-control around food and weight, leading to a place of personal shame and unhealthy habits. The key that opened my heart to health wasn’t a radical new diet or workout regimen; it was a revolutionary understanding of time (through two books I read and the prayers of my wife for 17 years!).

 The choice we face every day is this: we can leverage time for health, or we can be leveraged by time into decline.

The Deceptive Power of Neglect

 The danger of physical neglect lies in its subtlety. It’s hard to prioritize a 30-minute walk or an intentionally healthy meal when our sermon isn’t finished or that crisis call just came in. We are constantly tempted to tell ourselves that skipping one installment—that one moment—is no big deal. And in that moment, we’re right; the consequences are rarely immediate.

 This is the deception of single installments of time. Missing one day won’t cause a heart attack, but when those single missed days accumulate into years, the cumulative effect of neglect becomes devastating—physically, emotionally, and even financially. We can’t go back and re-live that lost time.

The Cumulative Value of Small Deposits

 For me, the key to healthier living has been an understanding of the cumulative value of investing small amounts of time over a long period.

 Think of exercise: a single week of consistent movement won't change our life, but a year of those small, daily or weekly deposits fundamentally reshapes our body, mind, and energy levels. These aren't areas where we can cram. We can’t pull an all-nighter to make up for years of poor sleep or unhealthy eating. There are no all-nighters for a healthy body.

 The critical arenas of life—health, marriage, spiritual growth—all require small, consistent deposits.

Redeeming the Time

So, what is the cost of our neglect? When we look at the last year, what has taken the place of our focused time on health? Often, it’s a stack of urgent-but-non-critical tasks that, when added up, amount to zero cumulative value in terms of life and vitality.

 Paul urges us to be wise, “making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16). This challenges us to get the full value out of every moment and the demands of ministry will constantly draw us into careless use of our time rather than strategic investment.

 This isn't about perfection; it’s about course correction. It’s about listening to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, who desires for us to be healthy leaders in every way. I’m praying we will all have breakthroughs in these areas!

 What is one thing—a consistent time for a walk, a commitment to mindful portion control, an earlier bedtime—that you need to start doing on a daily basis to redeem the time God has given you? The choice is ours, and the journey begins today.