Keys to a long life
Are you interested in health and longevity?
Recently, I have been listening to the book Outlive, by Peter Attia, MD. I heard enough interviews with him that I decided to get the book. I am not done with it yet but it has been very interesting so far. I imagine that part of my interest in health and longevity has to do with my upbringing and my faith.
I am a Seventh-day Adventist and my whole life I have been aware of the importance of
Nutrition
Exercise
Water
Sunlight
Temperance
Air
Rest
Trust
You probably noticed that the initials spell NEW START. For me it’s a way of life, it is part of my identity.
You may also have heard about Blue Zones. They are regions in the world where people are claimed to live or have recently lived, longer than the average. The five blue zones suggested are
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan;
Nuoro Province, Sardinia, Italy;
Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica;
Icaria, Greece;
and Loma Linda, California, United States.
Loma Linda is the only Blue Zone in the United States. Interestingly their longevity has been linked to their faith.
Living a decade longer than the average American is a group of 9,000 Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California. Loma Linda is coined a blue zone by National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author, Dan Buettner. Blue zones consist of five places in the world where individuals are healthier and live longer.
- Pulitzer Center
I mention all this because many of the things described by Dr. Peter Attia in his book on health and longevity fall in line with what I was taught my whole life. I never knew all the scientific data that supports my lifestyle, not to the degree that Dr. Peter Attia describes it. And I am definitely learning new things, but none of it has been shocking, it simply sheds more light and emphasizes a path I have been on for decades.
Some accuse Seventh-day Adventists of being legalistic. And I have met several who were. Some think that my lifestyle might be rather strict and disciplined. There is also some truth to that. But my lifestyle is a personal choice. I do encourage others around me to live healthy lifestyles but it goes far beyond simply diet and exercise. When I think of a healthy and happy life, it goes beyond the physical, it touches the emotional, social, and, especially, spiritual dimensions of life.
I live my life not in fear that if I am not disciplined I will lose my salvation, but rather focusing on how much I can get out of this life. I am aiming for the best, longest, possible life. And so far, it has been working well.
How does all this tie in with Deuteronomy 6?
I am glad you asked.
Commands and Decrees
“Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’
- Deuteronomy 6:1-4 NKJV (bold mine)
Many of us probably do not want to read about commands and decrees and statutes and judgments. It sounds like legalism and salvation by works. But here is another way of thinking about it. Imagine God loves you. Imagine God loves you so much He is willing to send His One and Only Son to die for you (John 3:16). Imagine God offers you salvation, and eternal life, as a free gift (Romans 6:23). Imagine God wants to reveal to you the best possible way for you to live and to enjoy life and get the most out of it. Would you be interested?
Salvation is a free gift. But are you also interested in getting the most out of this life here in this sinful world?
Hear O Israel
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
- Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NKJV
The sentence begins with a command to hear (shema in Hebrew), and it is in the second person singular, meaning “you.” In Hebrew, this command to hear would be understood as a command to obey.
“To hear,” in Hebrew lexicography, is tantamount to “to obey,” especially in covenant contexts such as this. That is, to hear God without putting into effect the command is not to hear him at all.
- Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy, vol. 4, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 162.
Because the first word in Hebrew is pronounced “shema,” this passage is often referred to as the Shema and is understood to be the heart of all the law. When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:34-39; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 10:25-28) He quoted this (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) and its companion in Leviticus 19:18) and the fundamental tenets of biblical faith.
Here I’ll refrain from going into a deep theological study of the implications of this passage because I want this post to be a bit more practical. (I do have a devotional based on this text as a video and you can click here to watch it.)
What to do with these laws?
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
- Deuteronomy 6:6 NKJV
The point of these laws is not to make a list and make sure to check each item off the list each day. The point of the law is not even to save you. But that does not mean that we have no use for the law. Many books have been written on the relationship of the law and salvation and I will avoid going down this path at this time, but I do wish to highlight what Moses said, that these words should be in our hearts.
Do not think about the law as an external list that must be checked off, but rather as something that lives in you and shapes all your interactions and every area of your life.
One way I think about this is
Instead of thinking “If I lie I will lose my salvation.”
I prefer to think “I am an honest person.”
You could argue that I just exchanged six for half a dozen (that’s a Brazilian expression “trocou seis por media dúzia”). But I would argue that it makes a difference. One way of looking at it, the law is outside of me to punish me when I fail. The other way that law is in me, it shapes who I am, and to go against it would be to deny my true identity in Christ. I no longer tell the truth because I am afraid of hellfire if I do not, rather I am honest because that is how I see myself as a child of God.
The teachings of God given through Moses were not meant to be a checklist, they were meant to be internalized. God was shaping the culture of His children and love was the key. When we love God with all that we have and all that we are we live our lives differently. Not because we are afraid of the consequences of disobedience, but because love compels us.
I attended public schools and as a member of a choir that toured and competed I was voted “most likely to miss an event due to religious reasons.” Interestingly that took place at a Friday night awards banquet that I missed because of my observance of the Sabbath. My friends sometimes would ask me to talk to my pastor to get permission. What they didn’t understand is that it was not the pastor that was keeping me from participating. If my church pastor had told me to go I would not have gone. My behavior was and is shaped by my walk with God, and my love for Him. Spending my Sabbath drawing closer to God and focusing on Him was more important for me than the awards banquet at my high school. After all, without God’s blessings, I would not have earned any of the awards I have received in my life.
I don’t want this to seem like it is about me. I just want you to understand where I am coming from. God’s guidelines for life belong in our hearts, in our minds, shaping our lives, not as an external list of expectations that I must meet in order to receive something in return. I approach God’s law as someone who already has eternal life in Jesus. I received my salvation as a free gift. My salvation is not based on my performance. I live a life of freedom, yet I choose to discipline myself because I am deeply interested in living out the life God has planned for me. I believe that is the best possible life I can live. I identify as a child of God and His will is deeply important to me. I have also experienced personally the blessings that come from living a life that aligns with God’s will as revealed in the Bible.
Teach diligently
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
- Deuteronomy 6:7 NKJV
I am a father, but I do not think this command is limited to parents. But let us begin with parents.
Parents, even if you place your children in Christian schools, the teachers are there to partner with you, but not to replace you. Discipling your children, teaching them about God is primarily your responsibility. The church is there to help you, but teaching your children about God remains primarily your responsibility.
To everyone else, teachers, grandparents, uncles, cousins, friends, coaches, neighbors, we all get to help. It really takes a community to reveal to a child what it looks like to have Jesus in your heart. A child is not interested in theological debates. They want to see the law of God in your heart, shaping your actions. They want to experience your love for God in the way you treat them. They want to see the difference God makes in your life in practical ways.
The biblical text is clear here. Discipleship happens throughout the day, throughout life. It’s what you talk about, it’s how you treat each other, it’s how you live your life. Are you kind? Are you honest? Do you offer to help? Kids are watching and they are learning what loving God looks like.
At my church, Cloverdale Seventh-day Adventist Church, in Boise Idaho, USA, I encourage my church members to take upon themselves the burden of pointing others to Jesus by the way they treat them. We all take responsibility for modeling for our kids what love for God and for one another looks like.
A sign
8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
- Deuteronomy 6:8-9 NKJV
This last part I take to be symbolic because binding God’s law between your eyes and to your hands will not necessarily impact your behavior. I see this as a reminder that God’s law must impact your behavior (what your hands do) and your thoughts (between your eyes or on your forehead). I find it interesting that God’s law must be symbolically on both your forehead and your hand. I highlight this because Revelation 13:16 talks about people receiving the mark of the beast on their hand or their forehead. I understand this to mean that God is not satisfied with you simply doing His will without it being convicted in your mind/heart or for you to simply have His law in your mind but not act according to it. Whereas by contrast, Satan is happy to have his mark either only on your mind or only on your hands. Meaning Satan does not care what you believe if you behave according to his will, that is against the will of God, and Satan does not care what you do if you think according to his values, even if outwardly you behave in a religious way.
God asks for our whole being, heart, soul, and strength. He wants His law as a sign on your forehead and on your hands. Satan is satisfied with just a little bit, just your head, or just your behavior. He knows that either one is sufficient to make you not fully God’s.
I take verse 9 to also be symbolic. Not that I need to write God’s law in the entrance to my house but rather as a symbol that in my house we follow God’s will. I may not have control over how things are done out in the world, but within my gates, under my sphere of influence, we will live according to God’s will. The way I run my household and treat people who come into my house will reflect God’s character.
This does not mean that I have everything figured out and always do the right thing. But these verses encourage me to aim for this, to aim to teach my children throughout the day in all that I do, and to manage and lead my household according to the will of God.
What about living long?
When we live according to God’s will, freely choosing to be honest, loving, and kind, to work hard and help those in need, to remember God’s commands in all areas of life, to eat and drink for His honor and glory (1 Corinthians 10:31), when I treat my body as the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) I also live not only a longer life but a life of higher quality. I live longer and I enjoy a better life. Just notice I did not say an easier life.
Maybe you have some questions about the specifics. Welcome to the club. I am still learning. But I know where to aim. I read the Bible to familiarize myself with the will of God, and I read books and consume media that I believe will help me better fulfill I what I believe God has called me to do.
Practical Application
What I want you to take away from this is a desire and a curiosity to discover and follow God’s will. Not in a legalistic sense where you are trying to somehow purchase salvation or blessings. But as a free person, saved by grace, desiring to live your best life possible.
Read through the Bible, the Old and New Testaments. Familiarize yourself with God’s laws. Don’t get hung up with the parts you don’t understand yet, but begin to practice what you do understand. Place the things you learn about God deep in your heart and let them shape everything you do. May God’s will be a sign in your head and in your hand. May God shape how you think and how you act. That way you will be a light in the world (Matthew 5:13-16).
so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.
- Deuteronomy 6:2 NIV
