Section 9—Interrelationship of Body and Mind
Chapter 39—Harmonious Action of the Whole Personality Necessary
A Mysterious Interrelationship—Between the mind and the body there is a mysterious and wonderful relation. They react upon each other. To keep the body in a healthy condition to develop its strength, that every part of the living machinery may act harmoniously, should be the first study of our life. To neglect the body is to neglect the mind. It cannot be to the glory of God for His children to have sickly bodies or dwarfed minds.—Testimonies for the Church 3:485, 486 (1875).
Harmony Depends Upon Conformity to Fixed Laws—The harmony of creation depends upon the perfect conformity of all beings, of everything, animate and inanimate, to the law of the Creator. God has ordained laws for the government, not only of living beings, but of all the operations of nature. Everything is under fixed laws, which cannot be disregarded. But while everything in nature is governed by natural laws, man alone, of all that inhabits the earth, is amenable to moral law.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 52 (1890).
A Harp of a Thousand Strings—It is not only the privilege but the sacred duty of all to understand the laws God has established in their beings…. And as they more fully understand the human body, … they will seek to bring their bodies into subjection to the noble powers of the mind. The body will be regarded by them as a wonderful structure, formed by the Infinite Designer, and given in their charge to keep this harp of a thousand strings in harmonious action.—The Health Reformer, September, 1871. (My Life Today, 148.)
All Part of a Perfect Whole—We are all represented as being members of the body, united in Christ. In this body there are various members, and one member cannot perform exactly the same office as another…. Yet all these organs are necessary to the perfect whole and work in beautiful harmony with one another. The hands have their office, and the feet theirs. One is not to say to the other, “You are inferior to me”; the hands are not to say to the feet, “We have no need of you”; but all are united to the body to do their specific work and should be alike respected, as they conduce to the comfort and usefulness of the perfect whole.—Testimonies for the Church 4:128 (1876).
The Harmonious Development of Both Mental and Moral Faculties—The improvement of the mind is a duty which we owe to ourselves, to society, and to God. But we should never devise means for the cultivation of the intellect at the expense of the moral and the spiritual. And it is only by the harmonious development of both the mental and the moral faculties that the highest perfection of either can be attained.—The Review and Herald, January 4, 1881.
Lack of Harmonious Action Brings Disease—It is the lack of harmonious action in the human organism that brings disease. The imagination may control the other parts of the body to their injury. All parts of the system must work harmoniously. The different parts of the body, especially those remote from the heart, should receive a free circulation of blood. The limbs act an important part and should receive proper attention.—Special Testimonies, Series B 15:18, April 3, 1900. (Counsels on Health, 587.)
An Impaired Faculty Injures the Whole—If one faculty is suffered to remain dormant, or is turned out of its proper course, the purpose of God is not carried out. All the faculties should be well developed. Care should be given to each, for each has a bearing upon the others, and all must be exercised in order that the mind be properly balanced.
If one or two organs are cultivated and kept in continual use because it is the choice of your children to put the strength of the mind in one direction to the neglect of other mental powers, they will come to maturity with unbalanced minds and inharmonious characters. They will be apt and strong in one direction but greatly deficient in other directions just as important. They will not be competent men and women. Their deficiencies will be marked and will mar the entire character.—Testimonies for the Church 3:26 (1872).
When the minds of ministers, schoolteachers, and students are continually excited by study, and the body is allowed to be inactive, the nerves of emotion are taxed while the nerves of motion are inactive. The wear being all upon the mental organs, they become overworked and enfeebled, while the muscles lose their vigor for want of employment. There is no inclination to exercise the muscles by engaging in physical labor, because exertion seems to be irksome.—Testimonies for the Church 3:490 (1875).
Caution Concerning Overwork—Remember that man must preserve his God-given talent of intelligence by keeping the physical machinery in harmonious action. Daily physical exercise is necessary to the enjoyment of health. It is not work but overwork, without periods of rest, that breaks people down, endangering the life-forces. Those who overwork soon reach the place where they work in a hopeless way.
The work done to the Lord is done in cheerfulness and with courage. God wants us to bring spirit and life and hopefulness into our work. Brain workers should give due attention to every part of the human machinery, equalizing the taxation. Physical and mental effort, wisely combined, will keep the whole man in a condition that makes him acceptable to God….
Bring into the day’s work hopefulness, courage, and amiability. Do not overwork. Better far leave undone some of the things planned for the day’s work than to undo oneself and become overtaxed, losing the courage necessary for the performance of the tasks of the next day. Do not today violate the laws of nature, lest you lose your strength for the day to follow.—Letter 102, 1903.
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for teaching us how intimately is the body and mind. Please bless us to follow Your guidance in their harmonious development. that we can be truly transformed to share Your love to those around us. With the right motives, we can be used of Your Holy Spirit to be a blessing. Thank You for the privilege of prayer and for knowing that through the name of Your Son we may expect what we ask, because we ask according to Your will to be in communion with Jesus. Please bless us to commit to doing right with the motive of divine love: overcoming every tendency to sin against You. Please grant to us a pure, wholesome, consistent Christian life, which is obtained by daily studying Your Word, the Holy Bible, under the guidance of Your Holy Spirit, to behold and reflect the character of Jesus to each other first and to the world. Like Jesus, please bless us to not be conformed to this world, but to be truly transformed into the persons You would have us be, working fully in the service of the King: Jesus. Please bless us truly to contemplate the life of Christ and to allow Your Word to develop within us that true religion, borne of love, which ennobles the mind, refines the taste, sanctifies the judgment, and makes us patient partakers of the vibrant health, purity, and holiness of Heaven. Because we ask all these in the Awesome name of Your Son, Almighty Jesus the Christ, our Savior, we say Thank You and Amen.
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DID YOU KNOW THIS…?
¶Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.—3 John 1:2 KJV —[The WORD OF GOD—It’s the only flesh that is safe to eat (meditate on) to live forever!]
Visit this link to watch today’s Sabbath service livestreamed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/UcheePinesInstitute. Invite your family and friends to join us online beginning at 9:15 am Eastern Time.
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Do you feel sorrowful, disconnected—without a place to feel at home or useful? I pray this might show you the way forward. Watch…
https://www.youtube.com/live/2QB6fcwVuws?si=fsEvZU-rkI-BngfD
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FREE HEALTH TALK* open to the public Thursdays at 5pm at Country Life Natural Foods Store and Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurant, 1217 Eberhart Avenue, Columbus, GA.
Thursday, Aug. 13: “Obesity and Weight Loss”
*Exception: $10 for any cooking class
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If you want to support Christian radio programming for these final days, please visit
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I coordinate wonderful health and worship events and conferences online and onsite as a gospel medical missionary at Uchee Pines, a total plant-based health retreat, where doctors and practitioners specialize in lifestyle medicine. For event details, visit https://www.ucheepines.org/events
Therefore, if at any time you fail to receive this post as a text, please visit
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where devotionals are first posted daily (almost without fail). From there devotionals are publicly shared to my page on FB, LinkedIn, and Signal (in My Story), and to a response-restricted group on WhatsApp (once again when I am able to find the time to successfully rebuild it).
NOTE: These began as daily texts to encourage my academy roommate and dear friend of nearly 50 years, until she suddenly passed March 2023. Now I continue to compile and send them to anyone who will receive them and to her family in honor of their mom. Lately, I have begun featuring consecutive chapter portions of a select Bible-based book.
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My personal prayer is that God will bless me to find ways to multiply this gift, so that we all may be encouraged to be found faithful in the sight of a Holy God, whenever Christ returns or our eyes are shut in the sleep of death.
It is a prayerful process that leads me to share from my personal study.
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