At the Heart of Life is the Soul

We live in an era with state of the art technology and pharmacologic advances that have created in us the immediate need for a quick fix.  Weight problems?  There are powders, shakes, “natural” pills and gummies all promising weight loss without denying you all your favorite indulgences or need to exercise.  Skin drooping as you approach the “mature years”?  No problem.  There are a myriad of miracle elixirs to make you look 20 year younger.

Feeling desperate at times to find a way to live healthier and leaner; I confess I have been tempted and have been drawn in to watching these long diatribes on You Tube, Facebook, and even in my email inbox only to realize what they really promise is that you and your money will soon part company.

We spend so much time trying to live up to what society dictates is beautiful and healthy (and the verdict often changes) that we spend little time on our soul.

What is the soul?

Britannica defines it as “A soul is made up of the mind, will, and emotions of a person. The soul is the seat of feelings, desires, and affections. It’s the character or substance of a person. In Hebrew (Old Testament language), the word used for soul is nepes and in the Greek (New Testament language), it’s psyche.”

From the time we are born to the time we die we learn about our soul.  From the nighttime prayer of:

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I should die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

To the time of death where we pray “May God rest their soul.”

Yet in between birth and death we are often consumed with everything else but our soul, our humanity, our heart.  Our soul is the core of who we are and who we are called to be.

God wants us to care for our bodies as a temple.  1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19-21 tells us that our body is holy.  Because our bodies are important, God  wants us to take good care of them.  After all, when we care for our bodies, we are happier and better able to do the work on earth that God has planned for us.

Without caring for our soul, our bodies, mind and will are worthless.  Our soul is our integrity, the essence of who we are.  According to John Ortberg in his book The Soul Keepers, “our soul is the operating system of our life.”  And God who built us is concerned for our souls.

  • What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  Matthew 16:26
  • Truly my soul finds rest in God: my salvation come from him. Psalm 62:1
  • This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16
  • Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you mind.” Matthew 22:37

Our soul integrates our will, thoughts, feelings, values, conscience, face, body language, and actions into a single life. When we are connected to God and His purpose we have a healthy soul and healthy life.

Does the remodeling of your body with lotions, potions and the latest magic notion take priority over the remodeling of your soul?  How have you been able to keep a Christian perspective amidst earth’s secular lifestyle?

This isn’t easy, folks.  I have not mastered this and I don’t know if I ever will completely balance caring for my body as a temple and keeping my soul healthy.   But I’m not giving up, rather I will continue to persevere in keeping the right perspective – God’s perspective – by making caring for my soul a priority.

I’d rather put my faith into God and His plan for me than any lotion or potion this world has to offer.

Because while their ads may bedazzle us, what God has planned is “out of this world” and eternal.

Sources:

John Ortberg, April 2014, Soul Keepers, Caring for the Most Important Part of You,

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. “soul”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/soul-religion-and-philosophy. Accessed 22 March 2024.

 

Thank you for reading my post.  If you have found it encouraging please consider liking, commenting or sharing it.  Feel free to even re-blog – may these words take flight!

I have additional insights I’d love to share with you found in the pages of my debut book: Surviving Medical Mayhem – Laughing When It Hurts.  To order a copy or learn more go to my website at www.lorettaschoen.com

Blessings for Health & Wellness.

 

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