A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, and wrath are like rottenness of the bones. – Proverbs 14:30, Amplified Bible (AMP)

Every now and then, various news outlets run stories on senior citizens who’ve made it to the 100-year-old mark. During every such story I’ve ever seen or read, the news reporter asks the centenarian, “What’s the secret to your long life?” Usually, the senior citizen responds with some variation of the thought: a worry-free life.

Whether they know it or not, these people are citing the “secret to long life” that God has given us in Proverbs 14:30. The world’s constant push to gain more of everything – more money, more fame, more power, etc. – fuels the envy, jealousy, and wrath that destroy the body. But, somehow, these folks have bucked the norm, choosing instead to live the life of contentment that God tells us will generate good health.

God gave us bodies composed of both physical and spiritual systems that are intertwined and interdependent. When they work together as God intended, good health follows. When, however, we gum up the spiritual system by giving attention to our sinful lusts rather than to God’s precepts, both the spiritual and physical systems suffer, and poor health follows.

How do we acquire calm, understanding minds and hearts? The answer is found throughout the Bible, but I know of no verse that sums it up any better than this:

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. – Isaiah 26:3, Amplified Bible (AMP)

An envy-free, jealousy-free, wrath-free life is found in communion with God, and communion with God only comes through a constant, ongoing, non-stop conversation with Him. Through such communion, we learn that we can trust Him, we learn to be content in Him, and we learn to be patient as we wait upon Him to bring His best plans for us to completion. When we fail to keep our minds stayed on Him, then we turn our attention to all of those things in life that cause anxiety, fear, and poor health.

Want a healthy lifestyle? Then turn your attention away from the cares of this world. Turn them instead upon the God who alone can supply you with a calm and undisturbed soul – and good health!