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Well did you know that compared to other
Americans, Seventh-day Adventist men live 7 years longer and
Seventh-day Adventist women live 4.5 years longer? Sounds hard
to believe, but our health message is no joke. In fact, we
pride ourselves in it and in today’s health-conscious
society this is often one of the primary reasons people take
notice of Adventists and first begin studying what we believe.
Essentially there are only a handful of principles that
represent the pillars of the Seventh-day Adventist health
message. We’ll try to list them for you here in
layman’s terms, but be sure to go to our links page for
listings of health sites that go into greater detail about how
you can change your lifestyle physically, mentally and
spiritually.
For starters, a lot of people associate
all Adventists with being vegetarians, but statistically only
one-third of us refrain entirely from meat. The reason people
get confused is because we don’t eat pork, shellfish or
other unclean meats as described in Leviticus 11 and
Deuteronomy 14. The Bible is very clear as to what we should
and should not consume and Adventists consider God’s
instructions here to be no less important than any of the other
guidelines set forth in both the Old and New Testaments.
Another health imperative involves
abstaining from alcohol and tobacco products. In the last few
decades, science has finally caught up with conservative
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Christians in proving our century-old
contention that cigarettes and tobacco are incredibly harmful.
And yet people continue to use these products, choosing to
ignore their obvious ill effects and the Bible’s pleading:
“What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are
not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify
God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
While very few people will tell you that
tobacco is good for your health, it has become increasingly
common to hear doctors and medical scholars promoting small
amounts of alcohol consumption as a means to decrease heart
problems. These studies almost always fail to mention that a
clean and healthy lifestyle (including refraining from any
alcohol at all) is the best way to try and steer clear of these
complications. Prevention is, without fail, the best medicine
and Adventists firmly believe that abstaining from alcohol is
one way to protect and respect the bodies that God gave us from
any unnecessary harm: “Alcohol is closely linked with
virtually every negative aspect of society: suicide, violent
crime, birth defects, industrial accidents, domestic and sexual
abuse, disease, homelessness, and death. It knows no racial,
ethnic, social or economic barriers.” (National Council
on Alcohol and Drug Dependency)
The last issue we’ll talk about is
rest.
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Adventists believe Saturday is the true
Sabbath and honor the 4th Commandment to our utmost ability by
resting on the 7th day just as our Creator did: “Keep the
Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded
thee. Six days shalt thy labor, and do all thy work: But the
seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou
shalt not do any work …” (Deuteronomy 5:12-14)
Sabbath is a time when Adventists put
aside the worries and troubles that fill our week and focus on
the character of God. This may seem like a doctrinal issue (as
opposed to a health issue), but the two cannot be separated in
this instance. God rested not because he was tired, but because
he knew we would be. Can anyone argue that resting one day a
week isn’t beneficial to our health? Hardly. In following
God’s example we’re doing two things that are
pleasing in His eyes: obeying Him and taking care of ourselves
by allowing our minds and bodies a chance to relax and heal
from the work of the previous six days.
These three basic principles protect our
fragile bodies from the fast pace wear and tear of this sinful
world. Other applications of these thoughts encourage common
sense practices like exercise, moderation in eating and daily
time with our Creator so our perspective is clear. The
healthier we are the less temptation we are likely to fall prey
to and more we can enjoy the many blessings He has lavished on
us!
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