365 Reflections

Deuteronomy 23:9–13 (ESV) “When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing. 10 “If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, 11 but when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp. 12 “You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. 13 And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. These two laws are incredibly important to an ancient culture far removed from the obsessive sanitize-everything-you-can culture of our day. The Israelites were to keep their military camps clean in the midst of warfare. These stipulations concerning what to do with semen and feces would have enormous health benefits to the nation's fighting men. The bottom line, in this case, is cl...

Titus 2:1 (ESV) But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Five times int he Pastoral epistles Paul uses the phrase, "But as for you" right after describing the evil ways of the world.  Here's another one.   The word "Sound" in greek is the word from which we get "hygiene" from.  It means to be healthy.  When it comes to teaching, the teaching needs to be "healthy."  I like that.   Health is maintained by one particular attribute above all else: Balance. You eat, but you balance your diet. You balance your time, not over doing it. You balance your relationships, knowing when to say no and yes. You balance your energy.  Taking rest, and giving your all when necessary. This is true when it comes to teaching, Paul says, keep it balanced.  Keep it balanced doctrine.  Too much of one sort of food can be bad for you.  Too much of one emphasis in the Bible can do damage to the body as well.  Paul was...