The pace of modern life gives us different challenges than the lifestyle in Bible’s times.
Still in the Bible we are told to take care of ourselves.
The Bible sets us an example of a mature Christian who has a balanced life and endurance for his activities.
Paul, in his letter to Corinthians exhorts us to run
this long run in a way that we will win.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
The Message
(MSG)
24-25 You’ve
all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins.
Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that
tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.
26-27 I
don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it
everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top
condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about
it and then missing out myself.
He is talking about self-discipline and being goal-oriented.
Part of the running for a goal-oriented winner is
controlling the pace and the power distribution.
Without controlling your pace you will not reach the
goal, at least not as a winner.
Many times us Christians distribute our power like a
race car.
We have a huge motor and when we start it we have a
lot of speed and we get a lot done.
But when you only have a race car and you use it for
shopping and commuting it can be a waste to lot of resources, like gas and
money.
Besides if you are always travelling on high gear it’s
hard to slow down fast enough.
How to use your motor in a wise way?
How to run so that you will be able to cross the finish
line?
What is stress?
If you were to ask a dozen people to define stress, or explain what
causes stress for them, or how stress affects them, you would likely get 12 different
answers to each of these requests.
The reason for this is that there is no definition of stress that
everyone agrees on, what is stressful for one person may be pleasurable or have
little effect on others.
We all react to stress differently.
Stress is difficult for scientists to define because it is a highly
subjective phenomenon that differs for each of us.
Things that are distressful for some individuals can be pleasurable for
others.
We also respond to stress differently.
Some people blush, some eat more while others grow pale or eat less.
Numerous surveys and studies confirm that occupational pressures and
fears are far and away the leading source of stress for American adults and
that these have steadily increased over the past few decades.
Just as stress is different for each of us there is no stress reduction
strategy that is a panacea.
The key to reducing stress is to prevent it.
Getting enough sleep, a proper diet, avoiding excess caffeine and other
stimulants and taking time out to relax may be helpful in this regard.
Many stress relievers work because of the power of the placebo effect
that comes from having faith in the procedure or the therapist.
Other very different approaches can achieve the same results because
they reduce feelings of helplessness and provide a sense of control over the
problem.
