The eight principles of health · 3 of 8
Exercise
God gave the first man a garden to look after. We were made to move, to work with our hands and to use our strength.
- What it is
- Using your body every day: walking, gardening and useful work.
- Why it matters
- We were made to move, and strength grows with use.
- Where to start
- A ten-minute walk most days, in the open air.
Key verse
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Made to move
In the beginning, work was part of God's good plan, given before anything had gone wrong. Digging, carrying, walking and tending living things kept body and mind busy together.
Dr Horst Müller teaches that a person works like a channel: we take in, and we give out. The food we eat and the air we breathe are taken in to be used. Moving your body is one of the simplest ways of putting that strength to work.
Strength grows with use
Ellen G. White gave a simple example. Bind up one arm for a few weeks, she wrote, and when it is freed it will be weaker than the arm you kept using (The Ministry of Healing, pages 237–238). What we use grows stronger. What we stop using grows weaker, at any age.
“Action is a law of our being. Every organ of the body has its appointed work, upon the performance of which its development and strength depend.”
“She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.”
Proverbs 31:17 (KJV)
Start where you are
You do not need a gym or special clothes. A walk around the block, time in the garden, housework, or a few stretches while the kettle boils all count. If you have not been active for a while, start small and build up slowly. A little every day is better than a lot once a week.
Walking is simple, it is free, and it suits almost everyone. Walking with a friend, or with a dog, makes it easier to keep going, and it is good company too.
“Those whose habits are sedentary should, when the weather will permit, exercise in the open air every day, summer or winter. Walking is preferable to riding or driving, for it brings more of the muscles into exercise.”
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)
Useful work, with your heart in it
Exercise does not have to be exercise for its own sake. Digging the garden, sweeping the path, carrying shopping for a neighbour: useful work moves the body and does some good at the same time. It also takes our thoughts off ourselves.
Ellen G. White preferred work done outdoors, planned, and enjoyed. She also recommended “a short walk after a meal, with the head erect and the shoulders back” (The Ministry of Healing, page 240).
“Outdoor exercise is the best; it should be so planned as to strengthen by use the organs that have become weakened; and the heart should be in it; the labor of the hands should never degenerate into mere drudgery.”
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”
Ecclesiastes 9:10 (KJV)
Work and rest go together
Being active during the day can make it easier to sleep at night. The Bible noticed this long ago.
Listen to your body. Feeling tired after effort is normal. Pain, dizziness or being badly out of breath are signs to stop and talk to your doctor. If you live with a health condition, ask your doctor what kind of activity is right for you.
“The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.”
Ecclesiastes 5:12 (KJV)
Something to try this week
- Go for a walk most days, even if it is only ten minutes.
- After your main meal, take a short, gentle walk.
- When you have been sitting for a long time, stand up and stretch.
- Do a job in the garden or outdoors that uses your hands.
- Ask a friend to walk with you once this week.
These pages are general health education, not medical advice. Everyone is different, so if you have a health concern, or you are thinking about a big change, please talk with your doctor first.
Where these words come from
Every Bible verse on this page is from the King James Version, quoted word for word, so you can look each one up for yourself. The other quotations are copied exactly from these books, with the page they are on:
- Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing Read free in our health library
Keep reading
The eight principles, in order. Choose any one to read next.