Spiritual Wellness
When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” —Mark 2:17 (NLT)
Main Point: If we want to be well, whole, and holy, we have to recognize and report our symptoms of spiritual sickness to the Great Physician.
He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. —1 Peter 2:24 (NLT)
Symptoms of Sickness / Indicators of Health
Sickness:
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. —Galatians 5:19-21a (NLT)
Health:
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. —Galatians 5:22-23a (NLT)
Sickness:
(Phillips) Let there be no more resentment, no more anger or temper, no more violent self-assertiveness, no more slander and no more malicious remarks. —Ephesians 4:31
Health:
(Phillips) Be kind to each other, be understanding. Be as ready to forgive others as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you. —Ephesians 4:32
“…in Sickness and in Health…”
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. —1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)
Commitment to Soul Care
“There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfill His purpose through your life.” – Oswald Chambers
Takeaway: No one is immune to spiritual disease, but we all have access to the healing power of Jesus.
Discussion Questions:
What are the symptoms of spiritual sickness in your own life? (If you don’t see any, ask God to open your eyes.) Do you have any habits, hurts, or hang-ups that mask those symptoms?
Have you been guilty of using God’s grace as a spiritual Band-Aid, rather than seeking true healing through a relationship with Jesus? What would a different form of “First Aid” and continuous soul care look like in your daily life? (Such as: Morning/evening prayer and Bible reading; scheduling quality time with spouse, children; chucking bad habits, including confessing and finding someone to keep you accountable.)
- How does the spiritual health of each individual affect the condition of a community? Can one be healthy without the other?
Table Discussion Question: The eccentric filmmaker and actor Woody Allen famously said, “Eighty percent of life is showing up.” How might that saying apply to the Christian life?