Welcome to the Shalowm Health Blog

First of all, why shalowm, what does it mean?

Being a student of God's Word, the Bible, I was interested in finding ways to be healthy in line with the Word of God. I therefore thought it appropriate to use a word meaning health that is used in the Bible, and I found in a Hebrew concordance for the Old Testament (found at Blue Letter Bible website):

Hebrew for H7965
שלום

Transliteration: shalowm

Pronunciation: shä·lome / shar-loam

Outline of Biblical Usage:

1. Completeness, soundness, welfare, peace

1. completeness (in number)
2. safety, soundness (in body)
   
3. welfare, health, prosperity
   
4. peace, quiet, tranquillity, contentment
   
5. peace, friendship
   
   1. of human relationships
      
   2. with God especially in covenant relationship
6. peace (from war)
   
7. peace (as adjective)

This meaning of the word shalowm fits in well with what I believe and want to achieve, a completeness of health, a contentment, peace, especially in relation to God and with others. I want to have a completely good healthy body.

But I do also know the Bible says: "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." (1 Timothy 4:8, NKJV).

This verse is a good one to consider in regards to health; looking after your body will profit you, but only in this physical life. The time we are going to spend in the flesh is only a little time compared to that spent in an immortal spirit body for eternity. Godliness, on the other hand, is profitable both now in the flesh, and in the eternal life to come in the spirit.

Consider also: "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." (3 John 1:2, NKJV).

The New Living Translation puts it this way: "Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit."

God wants us to be in good health and to prosper in this physical life, He wants the best for us. Sometimes that may mean suffering for a while, in various ways, including health problems, but always it is for our benefit. Physical health is linked to spiritual health. The closer we are to God, the better our health will be. The example of Job shows us, though, that sometimes God allows us to suffer in order for us to learn something important. In the case of Job, he was self-righteous and could not see it. So God allowed Satan to attack him until Job was suffering severe health problems. But it was his severe spiritual problem that led to this. Read the book of Job in the Old Testament to get the full story.

We have a responsibility, as Christians, to do the best to keep in good health. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NKJV) reads: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are."

If you have the Holy Spirit within you, then your body is the temple of God. God does not have a physical building temple for us to worship Him in, as was the case in ancient Israel with the temple that King Solomon built. Today, God's people are given the Holy Spirit, which makes the person a temple of God. If you defile that temple, e.g. through neglect, poor hygiene, poor diet, ignoring God's dietary laws (see Leviticus 11 for a list of things God tells us we should not eat, for the sake of our health), or willful self-harm, then God will have to punish you for that.

So look after your body, keep healthy, and remember that God loves you, He wants you to be in good health. As I learn more about health and what God wants for us, I will continue in this blog, as well as adding more about what I already know and my own personal health experiences. Maybe it will be of benefit to someone who reads it. God bless you for reading this.