Much will apparently be discussed this year about “income inequality,” and how money makes its way around American society. Some of that discussion may be useful, but none of it will repeal a fundamental truth: you can be as wealthy as billionaire Warren Buffett, but if you don’t have your health, money can’t replace it.
That’s why the greater discussion this year should be, I believe, about “spreading the health” as opposed to “spreading the wealth.” Seventh-day Adventists, in my view, should “spread the health” as much as we can.
We have an inspired health message—a plant-based diet, sunlight, fresh air, exercise, water, temperance, rest, and trust in God—that can apply to anyone. Indeed, people as diverse as former U.S. president Bill Clinton and megachurch pastor Rick Warren are embracing key elements of that message. On CNN not long ago, Clinton declared that he was (and is) “practically vegan” now, resulting in a nice weight loss and much better health. Anchor Wolf Blitzer, speaking with physicians Dean Ornish and Caldwell Esselstyn after Clinton’s remarks, was utterly astonished at the (very sound) concepts to which the forty-second president was now adhering.
My own health practices aren’t perfect, but I’m getting there. A journey through Hans Diehl’s Complete Health Improvement Program, or CHIP helped me lose 20 pounds and gain a good understanding about what I must do to improve even more.
Healthy living is a message every Seventh-day Adventist church could share in its community as a way to show God’s love to others, help folk lead a better life, and, yes, expose Adventist Christianity as a faith worth finding. If your church isn’t doing this, why not take the lead and make this a year of good health?
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Mark A. Kellner is news editor of the Adventist Review. This article was published March 8, 2012.
