Bill English
And I’m Bill English, the publisher here at Bible and Business. And I want to welcome you to the last of an eight part series that’s coming from chapter five called Advisors and Wisdom from my book, a Christian Theology of Business Ownership. But before we get started today, I would like to just invite you to head over to Bible and Business.com. Take a look at the website, look at over 200 articles and podcasts that I have over there. And of course, if you want to, you can download the slides for this entire series in PDF format for free from Bible and Business.
Bill English
Today’s topic is going to be on self care and I’m just going to make a few notes here, make a few comments about being able to pass it on. In other words, as we age, as business owners, are we physically able to pass on what God has poured into us? That’s really what I’m going to be talking about this morning. And the reason I say that is because I’ve observed that we have a plethora of really Godly business owners in their fifty s, sixty s and seventy s, who have a deep reservoir of wisdom to pass on, but they can’t because they’re preoccupied with their physical problems or their physical ailments. And that’s directly because they really haven’t taken care of their bodies over the years.
Bill English
They’ve let themselves become overweight. They haven’t exercised, they haven’t ate well, and so their bodies are breaking down really prematurely and they just don’t have the physical ability to pass on to a younger generation what I would think in normal circumstances they could pass on. And that’s why I’m just going to suggest here that for business owners, a good diet and regular exercise creates a better context in which our walk with God can be performed and our sensitivity to spiritual things can thrive. I want to connect the two. And part of the reason is because of what’s written in First Corinthians three verses ten to 17 by the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it.
Bill English
But each one should build with care, for no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, cosly, stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder receives a reward. But if it’s burned up, the builder suffers loss and yet will be saved even as though only one escaping through the flames.
Bill English
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, god will destroy that person. For God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. The reasoning here in these verses is not hard to understand. How can we be spiritually mature and walk well with God when we ignore proper caretaking of the temple in which he resides?
Bill English
Look, while it’s true that in one Timothy four eight tells us that bodily exercise profits little, but I would just like to remind us that it does profit. There is some profit in it. The number of Christian business owners over 60 who have health problems due to poor nutrition, being grossly overweight, lack of exercise, and a general lack of self care is more common than what we might want to admit. And the amount of wisdom and tacit knowledge that God has poured into this group that really is going to be lost for the younger generation. It’s really difficult to calculate, and I liken it as a silent tragedy.
Bill English
So here’s kind of a phrase that I use. You’ll never read about an overweight sedentary person in the Bible who was powerful in leaving something behind for the next generation. Let’s just get serious about this. Our bodies are literal temples in which the Holy Spirit resides. When we neglect the proper care of our bodies, we neglect taking care of God’s temple.
Bill English
So nothing can replace proper diet and proper exercise. And so I just want to encourage you. If you’re a business owner and you’re even over 40 and you know that the ownership is kind of sapping your time, it’s sapping any any chance you have at exercise and you’re and you’re kind of eating on the fly all the time. You’re running through McDonald’s or whatever. I just want to encourage you to stop carve out time for proper diet and exercise.
Bill English
And what you will find is that as you do those things, your walk with God will actually get better, because you’re physically, you’ll be better able to think you’ll have more energy, and you’ll be able to walk with Him better. And as a result, you’ll live longer and have more to give back to the younger business owners as they start to grow and thrive in their businesses, running and really relearning many of the lessons that you and I have already learned. Okay, we’re done. We’re finished with this series on wisdom and advice from chapter five in my book, a Christian Theology of Business Ownership. I want to thank you for being with me for this series, and I’ll invite you to look around this YouTube channel or my podcast channel and take a look at what else I have available.
Bill English
I have well over 200 podcasts, and I have close to 100 videos now out here at Bible and Business. And so just hope that all of this is helpful to you. And as always, you’re welcome to drop me a line, not give me a call. I was going to say give me a call, but actually just send me an email. Bill at Bible and Business.
Bill English
I’d love to hear from you. So until we see each other again, I hope you go out and make it a great day. Take care.