Live Longer and Holier

Death is inevitable and each of us will have to face it sooner or later. While we do not have the power over death, we have the power over what we do to our body to live longer. For instance, we all know that eating too much of everything sweet, salty, sour, and fatty leads to sickness or disease, or sometimes aggravates our condition if we have it pre-existing already. Yet how many of us keep away from feasting on foods loaded with these life-threatening ingredients?

We also know that vices such as drinking alcohol, smoking, and staying late up at night deteriorate our health yet many of us still do these things. We have been told that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit yet we continue to desecrate and weaken it with our abusive ways.

We also know that exercise is good for the body yet how many of us take the time to stretch those muscles and bones?

I am guilty in some of the abuses mentioned above like staying late up at night and not exercising that's why I'm trying to change these bad habits because I want to live longer. Lately, I have not been using the laptop and the Internet way beyond sleeping time especially on weekdays. Also lately, I have been taking time to exercise at least three times a week.

Of course, we can only do so much to bide our time to stay longer here on earth. When it's really time for us to go, off we shall go. As we try to improve our physical condition, it would be wise, no, wiser, to also maintain the health of our souls. The latter is much harder to do than the former but with God's grace and total surrender to His will, living a holy life, no matter how difficult it may be, will always be within our reach.

As there are various ways to be physically fit and healthy, there are also steps we can do to live a holy life: stay away from bad influences and occasions of sins, join religious communities, attend mass and pray daily, and do charitable acts. Of course, sin will always try to find its way to us but if we have done more good things than bad ones, the Just God will always reward our efforts.

If you haven't thought yet of living longer and holier, maybe it's about time? Don't you think so?