Education After 60 – Dealing With Aches and Pains (An active brain can mean a healthy body!)

08.12.11 / Uncategorized / Author: lsteadman

It doesn't matter whether you are over 60 or a teenager, we all have aches and pains. But the important question is, "What do you do about them?" Maybe you or your children are studying how to become a paramedic or a doctor at one of the top online universities. That is excellent! Paramedics and doctors have their place and do great work. I go to the dentist every six months and have a physical checkup with the family doctor every year or two. My dad passed away while suffering from colon cancer, which is hereditary, twenty years ago; so I also have a colonoscopy every five years. Since you have a physical body, you do have to take care of it and use common sense. You have all heard the joke, "Well, if it hurts when you do that, don't do that!" Yes, this is an over simplification about how do deal with aches and pains. But realize, we are not just physical beings.

We Are Spiritual Beings
We are not just animals, we have a soul (our intellect – memories, thinking and intelligence) and a spirit as well. Scientific analysis has actually been done on both animals and humans at the point of death. Something tangible and measurable, by weight, actually leaves the body of a human at the point of death; however, no detectable change is found in other animals at the point of death. As my pastor says, “We are spiritual beings inhabiting a physical body.” The scientific analysis and biblical Christian teachings are consistent.

An interesting and related subject is how Americans relate to the spiritual world, compared to people in other parts of the world. Americans are very consumer and materialistically orientated to the world around them. Our physical well-being and ways to maintain our physical well-being are extremely important; however, this often results in over-emphasis on the physical to the near exclusion of our spiritual nature. In Africa, and other parts of the world, there is a much greater emphasis on the spiritual element of human beings. As a consequence, praying and believing for supernatural miracles and praying for physical manifestations are much more readily understood and accepted in Africa (and other parts of the world) than in the United States.

We Have Physical Bodies
The Bible says our bodies are the “temple of the Holy Spirit.” (1st Corinthians 6:19) Therefore, we must take care of that temple, called our physical body. As explained in the previous article, “… – The Importance of Exercise,” we need to use our bodies and keep active on a regular basis. Otherwise, we will find decreased physical ability. And it does not matter whether you are a teenager or you are over 60, you must keep using your muscles, tendons, ligaments, circulatory system and everything else in our bodies, or lose the ability to function with them. And two of the most important parts of our body, probably the most important parts, are our heart and our brain.

We are wonderfully made, so says the Bible. Our brain makes decisions and our heart responds, “That’s good!” and at other times responds, “That’s bad!” In short, the two work together and the result is a life recognizing God first and really appreciating His creation all around us. Or, the result is a life living only for self and taking for granted His creation all around us. Which life do you lead?

Taking Dominion
I receive many of my philosophies, guidance and direction from three spiritual sources. These are the Word of God, God Himself and my pastor and church. Numerous times my pastor has admonished me and the entire congregation to “take dominion” over the “world, the flesh and the Devil.” In more layman’s terms, he is referring to the physical world and the people in it, the materialistic facets of life including sex and moral decision making, and the very real spiritual entity called Satan or the Devil.

As a child of God, Satan and his demons have no power over us, if we take dominion through the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other way to say this. There are many blessings in this life, as well as many blessing the next life in heaven, from inviting Christ into our lives. I, my pastor and many Christians in our congregation have repeatedly prayed for others, as well as ourselves, and seen many many physical miracles take place right before our eyes.

God is real today and so is His power. From backaches to headaches to cuts and bruises and many others, Christians have power over sickness, injury and disease; all they have to do is believe in Jesus Christ, and what He has done for us, and take dominion over sin and its many manifestations, often in the form of sickness, disease, suffering and aches and pains.

As always your comments and questions are most welcome. Thank you for reading!