We are called to live a life that blesses and serves others. This was what Jesus did every day He was on this earth. He never considered Himself.

"Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give His life a ransom for many." -Matthew 20:28

As followers of Christ, I think most of us would agree on the importance of serving, and likely have served or volunteered at some point in our lives. So what does this have to do with health?

I believe it has a lot to do with health. If you are anything like me, you have begun to realize just how selfish and self-serving we can be. It seems the more I come to know Jesus, the more I realize I fall short. That is not to make me feel bad or guilty, but to strive to reach higher towards a deeper, richer life in Christ. And for me, and many others, that includes food. Let me explain..

Myself, and if we were to be honest, most of us have been quite indulgent with our food; eating what we want, when we want and eating lots of processed junk foods. We have been doing this for generations, and unfortunately a great number of people are sick and dying prematurely. Our children are even getting sick at very young ages often from birth. I guarantee many of you reading this right now, and others you know, have used terms such as chronic pain, migraines, arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, diabetes, acid reflux and many more. If we are suffering with these afflictions, are we able to serve to the fullness that God would call us to? Are we able to take all the focus off of ourselves and put it on God and serving others?

Often what happens is the opposite. We can be consumed by our pain, our health diagnosis, and for many, our food addictions. I know pastors, teachers and speakers who have lost their voice for months. I have seen people who love to serve on the mission fields overseas so riddled with pain they can't travel. I have known people who love Jesus with all their heart taken by cancer? Why?

I can tell you it is not God's heart or intention for us to suffer. In fact, it is quite the opposite. He designed us to thrive on this earth He gave for us. We can blame sin. We can blame our parents. We can blame the food industry, the medical industry, the devil, the chemicals in our food, the weakness of our own flesh or any number of other things. But the bottom line is, we have to choose health. We have to choose the life-giving things God gave us to heal our bodies and anybody can do it!

I have seen pastors who lost their voice for month do a cleanse and their voice was back in a week. I have seen singers without a voice get it back quickly. I have seen people in pain get out of pain and back on the mission field. And I have seen people healed from cancer. And not usually through the instant miracle, but by choosing life, by choosing nutrition, by choosing herbs and plants God made for medicine and by choosing cleansing which is key to health. Our holy temples are toxic and this is the result of almost everything we call sickness and disease today.

It's ok to accept responsibility for our own health. We have created a culture that blames everyone and everything else for our health problems, our weight problems and our food problems. God is calling us higher. God is calling us to overcome. God is calling us to divine health, for we are indeed made in His image. God is calling us to choose health over sickness.

Going in and of hospitals, trying to manage our pain with medications, striving on and off yo-yo diets and battling food indulgence keeps our focus away from God and away from serving others. So here is to a new summer and a new you! Choose health, choose life and choose the servant life. Here is a scripture that convicts me on this topic, may it speak to your heart as well...

"For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." -Galatians 5:13

- Vaughn