So much of the broader church views the term “heart” solely through the Disney lens. And Disney is only concerned about following your feelings. But when you read the word “heart” in the Bible, you get a very different picture. Thinking comes from your heart (Mark 2:6). Emotions come from your heart (1 Sam. 1:8, Deut. 28:47). Speech comes from your heart (Matt. 12:34). Worries and fears come from your heart (Isa. 35:4). Understanding or misunderstanding happens in your heart (Matt. 13:15, Rom. 1:21). 

I just completed my 46th lap around the Sun. The next lap has just dawned and won’t set for another 365 days. There isn’t anything special about turning 46. It’s not a birthday with a zero or five at the end. It’s not a major milestone associated with a hill. It’s just another birthday, another lap around the Sun. 

So why offer advice on such an occasion? Well, perhaps I was just especially pensive and reflective earlier this week. I suppose it’s partly the perspective from the changes in my life. But whatever the reason, I thought that, if I were younger, I’d like to hear these things. But then again, it’s strange being older when you used to be younger. We all start off wanting to create the life that we believe is the correct life. Successful. Strategic. Relaxing. Happy. A life that “matters”, whatever that means to whoever might say it. And yet, as youths ourselves, we really haven’t seen much. Still, we all remember when no one who was “older” could tell us something like that! Oh no, we knew all the answers and then some. “Our elders were surely mistaken! They just didn’t understand, and by the way, where did those younger counselors go? The ones Rehoboam had listened to? They sure seem like they have life figured out.” Anyways, sure that we will catch up to those guys, we run on, headlong and headstrong in our pride. 

The ambition of the young is not all bad. Solomon doesn’t say to keep from doing anything, but he does say to get wisdom wherever you can find it. And that means the young among us need to listen up. But that also means something else to the old. They need to speak up. But first, they need to have some wisdom. Do I have any wisdom to offer? I’ll let you pick up your Bible and decide if that’s the case. But I do have a few lessons I have learned in my time on God’s amazing planet. I’ll offer four and a half lessons on the completion of my four and a half decades. 

Lesson #1: Physical Health is a Worthy, Reasonable Stewardship.

I chose the words in this lesson on purpose. “Worthy” means that the work of learning to be healthy and then acting on that knowledge is worth it. The payoff is fewer physical problems to deal with as you age. I have had a grandfather, a father, and two fathers-in-law who all had physical health. The blessing and benefit to my family and my kids is incalculable. My dad is a former HVAC repairman, but really a general Mr. Fix-it (as long as we aren’t talking about a computer). Whenever he repairs something of mine, he reminds me that his work all comes with a lifetime warranty, “but it’s my lifetime!” 

“Reasonable” means you aren’t a couch potato, but you also don’t have to be a bodybuilder. A “reasonable” plan will recommend a modicum of health. See David Mathis’ book A Little Theology of Exercise. Finally, “Stewardship” is a theological reminder that God gave you your body, and it is His temple. You are charged to care for it as you serve Him. It’s not too much to ask for you to learn to say no to seconds, walk every day, and try to do something for your strength, even if it’s just ten pushups. Injuries are no fun, and a little training goes a long way.

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