If I have a migraine headache, the functioning of my entire body is impaired. I can’t think as well, talk as well, exercise as well. My senses become dulled. If I break my leg, I become useless for most athletic activities. During recovery, my biceps and triceps and shoulders and core, no matter how strong they are, cannot be used to compete. Several years ago, I saw a massage therapist for a neck injury. She always used to say, “Everything is connected.” When the neck is injured, it can influence the health of the shoulders and the back and the jaw and the voice. It follows that the health of the whole body depends on the health of every part.
The Eye Is The Lamp Of The Body
Jesus favored the example of the eye, a small organ with huge importance to the rest of the body.
The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Matthew 6:22-23
In Galatians 5:9, it says, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Leaven is another word for yeast. It’s what gives bread its thick quality (the texture of bread is like crackers otherwise). Leaven in the Bible is an analogy for sin. A little bit of sin can have a huge effect on our lives. Like yeast, it imposes its nature on the whole of who we are.
When the sexual area is in order, it can be the big blessing God intended it to be emotionally, physically, and spiritually. When it is out of order, it can wreak havoc on hearts, minds, careers, relationships, and communities. I’m sure you can think of an example from your family, your own life, or in the life of a celebrity who made a mess of things by failing to exercise self-control in the sexual area.
Most articles on this blog involve the sexual area in one way or another. A desire to see people, especially young people, avoid pitfalls and pain in this area was, in fact, my main motivation for starting this blog.
However, while we pursue success in the sexual area, we should be pursuing success in every other area. Earlier I mentioned the head, the leg, and the eye. What about emotional health? Physical health? Spiritual health? These areas, which cannot be reduced to the sexual area, will have a great influence on the quality of our lives.
How I choose to spend this hour. How I choose to spend that $100. The friends I choose to hang out with. What I eat for breakfast (and lunch and dinner). What media I consume. Whether or not I exercise. The status of my spiritual disciplines.
My daily choices may seem small and insignificant in the moment, but over time they determine the destiny of my life.
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