This Might Be Healthy

Reading the news "health" reports is quite fun at times. I say "fun" because if you read them objectively, they come across quite similar to cheap fortune tellers. "Eating this food might lead to cancer", "it has been shown that doing this exercise might have an influence on your cholesterol", and I always like the ones like, "there might be a relationship between sleeping habits and stress levels". I only give some general examples here, but the substance should be obvious. Tons of people are obsessively concerned with health practices and yet a large percentage of their decision making process is determined by a whole lot of "mights".

The most vivid ways that these "mights" come up is when you find two different people who are obsessed with physical health coming to two completely opposite conclusions about what is healthy. "Carnivores" avoid vegetables because of the toxins in them; while "vegetarians" avoid meat because of its unhealthy properties (at least that is one claim they have). One person jogs for exercise, while another says jogging damages the spinal cord and makes you die earlier. It is hard to follow a "might".

As St. Paul said, "bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come". So, take care of your body that God has given you, and do not try to deny your responsibility for it. Yet, do not make your concern for physical health more important than your concern for your spiritual health. There are no "mights" in the spiritual realm: sin leads to eternal death, and repentance leads to eternal life. The Sacraments are given to us to lead us on that path to eternal life; not just "might", but actually so.