Thrive_Autumn 2019 digital issue

truth talk
Autumn 2019
HEALTH
THE
BENEFITS
by Valerie Heaton
OF FAITH
TRUTH TALK: THEOLOGY AND TRENDS
In today’s culture, we’re constantly told that if we hustle
hard enough, follow our feelings, and chase our dreams
we’ll be living happy, healthy and enviable lives. There are
countless self-help books, podcasts, and gurus that profess
to hold the secret to being your absolute best, and many fall
victim to these false claims.
Not many non-Christians would think that religion could
play a role in cultivating the kind of life they seek, yet
numerous studies have shown that there are both mental
and physical health benefits to those who regularly engage
in religious practices such as prayer, reading Scripture,
and attending worship services. In fact, adults who are
highly religious (pray daily and attend religious services
at least once a week) have been shown to volunteer more,
engage more with their families, and have a higher rate of
overall happiness than those who are less religious or not
religious at all 1 . Going one step further, those same people
were shown to have a greater sense of hope, purpose and
meaning in life, and mental well-being 2 . Christians who
experience deep intimacy in their walk with God can
surely attest to the hope and peace it brings. In Isaiah 26:3
(ESV) we read, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is
stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” There are so many
things competing for our attention: smart phones, tablets,
social media, TV, Netflix, emails, missed calls… the list goes
on and on. Finding peace in the midst of this chaos doesn’t
come from completing our to-do lists, but in surrendering
that chaos and staying our minds on the Lord. When we
embrace this Heavenly peace, we are more resilient to hardship—over
100 studies have shown that those who value
their faith are less likely to suffer from issues such as depression,
substance abuse, suicide, and hypertension 3 .
The benefits of a vibrant spiritual life don’t end there: research
also shows that it can boost your immune system,
keeping you healthier overall. A 1997 study conducted
by Duke University discovered that adults who regularly
attend religious services have healthier immune systems
than their non-religious counterparts 4 . While suffering
from fewer colds is certainly appealing, it was also found
that a deeper spiritual life led to increased life expectancy!
Greater involvement in religious practices was consistently
associated with longer length of life, regardless of education,
health background, race, or sex 5 . In fact, deeply religious
individuals live an average of seven years longer than
those who are not—a gap as great as that between nonsmokers
and those who smoked a pack of cigarettes a day 6 .
Many of us already avoid smoking in an effort to save our
health and prolong our lives, but how many of us consider
our daily devotional time to be a life-lengthening practice?
These results only confirm what we have known for thousands
of years: that a close relationship with God brings
peace, joy, and fulfilment in life where nothing else can.
— Valerie Heaton is managing editor of Thrive Magazine.