God created man in His image—a threefold being with physical, mental and moral natures. These three natures all interact with one another and affect one another intimately. One's physical health affects one's mental and moral health. One's mental state, including one's attitudes, beliefs, and level of contentment, affect the physical and moral health. And one's moral or spiritual condition greatly affects the health of the body and the mind.
But it doesn't stop there. Our minds have an awareness of everything that is involved with our condition, the condition of others, and the overall condition of society. We are aware of our financial condition—how much we own and earn—and the state of our financial health has a deep impact on the health of our mind. Consequently it also affects our physical and moral health.
For example: financial stress can have an effect on the body's immune system—its ability to fight disease—and therefore financial stress, along with other stressors, can actually be a root cause of illness. In the same way, the political health of society—the level at which government is meeting or not meeting the people's real or perceived needs—this also is connected with every other category of health.
Therefore, if we want to see Nagaland and its residents achieve the highest possible levels of physical, mental and moral health and healing, then we can not close our eyes to anything that affects the health of the individual or the health of society at large. We must learn to take a comprehensive approach to health and healing. For Nagaland to become everything that the God of heaven wants it to become, there will be something for government to do and something for the people to do.
But what exactly is it that God wants for Nagaland? One verse in the Bible sums it up better than any other when it comes to this idea of comprehensive health of body, mind, and spirit. It is found in 3 John verse 2: “Beloved, I wish more than anything else that you will prosper and be in health.”
When you first think of prosperity you think of money—your financial health. But comprehensive prosperity embraces every other category of health as well. Can a rich man who is lying on a death bed as a result of physical disease be truly considered prosperous? Will he be able to enjoy his financial prosperity in his sickness or in his death? I think the answer is obvious.
But just in case it was not completely obvious that true prosperity includes physical, mental and moral health, the apostle John finishes his sentence that began talking about prosperity by adding the words, “and be in health.” In other words, prosperity and health are intimately related. Comprehensive health of body, mind and spirit are actually necessary to reach the highest levels of true prosperity.
Now suppose we work hard to develop comprehensive health in Nagaland only to destroy the environment? Will we be able to achieve comprehensive health in this way? We will not. Why not? Because if the air that we breathe is polluted, the soil that grows our food is contaminated, and the water we drink is toxic, there will be a dramatic negative impact on the health of the people and consequently on their prosperity as well.
If Nagas were to develop a model society in Nagaland, where the comprehensive health of people, politics, and environment was showcased, that would open the floodgates for tourism and the financial prosperity that comes with it. And this is not just a lot of hot air or an unachievable theory.
I originally come from a tiny island country that has achieved this, and it is now as wealthy as the United States, on a per capita basis, minus the national debt that is now smothering the U.S. to death. To accomplish a similar level of sustainable economic health in Nagaland, we need to figure out ways of cleaning up the existing environmental pollution and then continue to develop the state in the most profitable, but environmentally sensitive ways. This is a possible goal if there is enough will to achieve it.
As an example of what is possible, even in a society that is not Christianized as Nagaland is, consider our neighbor to the north—Bhutan. If you take wages as the standard, then Bhutan is a poor country. But the land is fertile and the population is small. So people are well fed. The streets are not littered with beggars or homeless. Education and medical care are free. The government will send its citizens to reputable hospitals abroad when the country's own health care system cannot handle the illness. The sale of tobacco products is banned. Smoking in public is a finable offense. And there are other high environmental protection standards in place. The use of environmentally destructive plastic bags, for example, is also banned.
But one of the most unique aspects of Bhutan's approach to development is that progress is not solely defined on the basis of economic achievements as is true in other countries. The level of cultural and environmental preservation and development are also considered. In other words, Bhutan recognizes that progress and prosperity do not need to come at the expense of the cultural wealth of the people.
Progress does not need to include becoming a carbon copy of the United States, where the money and power brokers have sometimes been allowed to sacrifice the country's historical and cultural heritages in their pursuit of the “almighty dollar.” Bhutan is avoiding this soul-destroying mistake, and Nagaland should take a good hard look at Bhutan's example in this respect and not allow the good and valuable aspects of Naga culture to be lost in the quest for progress.
You don't have to be like a Korean, or an American, or a Bollywood or Hollywood star in every way to be cool. The coolest guy is the one that everyone else is rushing to copy. The copycats are just that—copycats! Very much about the Naga culture is very cool. Instead of trying to be like everyone else, Nagas should work on developing the comprehensive health and prosperity of Naga society to such an unprecidented degree that the world will want to copy Nagas, rather than Nagas copying the world! And the place we can start is learning the Bible-based principles that God has given for the purpose of fulfilling His promise of prosperity and health.
God has always wanted to have a special people on earth whom He could use to show off the superiority of His way of doing things. He tried to make ancient Israel that people who would showcase the benefits of living in harmony with all God's wisdom, but they got tired of being different. They thought it would be more cool to be like everyone else. And in the process of becoming like all the other nations, they eventually lost everything.
In the beginning, God had told them, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you,” Exodus 15:26. And that promise is still there for any people who will listen to the wisdom of God and practice it. Could the Nagas of Nagaland become the people God uses to showcase His comprehensive health and prosperity plan to the world?
Your health is your wealth. It is the most important asset that you own. With comprehensive health of body, mind and spirit, you can accomplish anything that is in harmony with the will of God. Nothing will be impossible for you if it is in harmony with righteousness. And when the larger proportion of society and of government is composed of people with high levels of physical, mental and moral health, we will have a society with correspondingly low levels of disease, dishonesty, crime and corruption.
That society will become a showcase society. And the other peoples of the world will say, “Surely this great [people] is a wise an d understanding people. For what great [people] is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?” Deuteronomy 4:6, 7.
(Ian Anthony Jones is a health educator and missionary from the US now married to a Naga and residing in Dimapur. He will be contributing every Friday to the Morung Express under the column: Health & Healing. You may contact the Health and Healing columnist and give him feedback at: edenbarak.ngo@gmail.com)
But it doesn't stop there. Our minds have an awareness of everything that is involved with our condition, the condition of others, and the overall condition of society. We are aware of our financial condition—how much we own and earn—and the state of our financial health has a deep impact on the health of our mind. Consequently it also affects our physical and moral health.
For example: financial stress can have an effect on the body's immune system—its ability to fight disease—and therefore financial stress, along with other stressors, can actually be a root cause of illness. In the same way, the political health of society—the level at which government is meeting or not meeting the people's real or perceived needs—this also is connected with every other category of health.
Therefore, if we want to see Nagaland and its residents achieve the highest possible levels of physical, mental and moral health and healing, then we can not close our eyes to anything that affects the health of the individual or the health of society at large. We must learn to take a comprehensive approach to health and healing. For Nagaland to become everything that the God of heaven wants it to become, there will be something for government to do and something for the people to do.
But what exactly is it that God wants for Nagaland? One verse in the Bible sums it up better than any other when it comes to this idea of comprehensive health of body, mind, and spirit. It is found in 3 John verse 2: “Beloved, I wish more than anything else that you will prosper and be in health.”
When you first think of prosperity you think of money—your financial health. But comprehensive prosperity embraces every other category of health as well. Can a rich man who is lying on a death bed as a result of physical disease be truly considered prosperous? Will he be able to enjoy his financial prosperity in his sickness or in his death? I think the answer is obvious.
But just in case it was not completely obvious that true prosperity includes physical, mental and moral health, the apostle John finishes his sentence that began talking about prosperity by adding the words, “and be in health.” In other words, prosperity and health are intimately related. Comprehensive health of body, mind and spirit are actually necessary to reach the highest levels of true prosperity.
Now suppose we work hard to develop comprehensive health in Nagaland only to destroy the environment? Will we be able to achieve comprehensive health in this way? We will not. Why not? Because if the air that we breathe is polluted, the soil that grows our food is contaminated, and the water we drink is toxic, there will be a dramatic negative impact on the health of the people and consequently on their prosperity as well.
If Nagas were to develop a model society in Nagaland, where the comprehensive health of people, politics, and environment was showcased, that would open the floodgates for tourism and the financial prosperity that comes with it. And this is not just a lot of hot air or an unachievable theory.
I originally come from a tiny island country that has achieved this, and it is now as wealthy as the United States, on a per capita basis, minus the national debt that is now smothering the U.S. to death. To accomplish a similar level of sustainable economic health in Nagaland, we need to figure out ways of cleaning up the existing environmental pollution and then continue to develop the state in the most profitable, but environmentally sensitive ways. This is a possible goal if there is enough will to achieve it.
As an example of what is possible, even in a society that is not Christianized as Nagaland is, consider our neighbor to the north—Bhutan. If you take wages as the standard, then Bhutan is a poor country. But the land is fertile and the population is small. So people are well fed. The streets are not littered with beggars or homeless. Education and medical care are free. The government will send its citizens to reputable hospitals abroad when the country's own health care system cannot handle the illness. The sale of tobacco products is banned. Smoking in public is a finable offense. And there are other high environmental protection standards in place. The use of environmentally destructive plastic bags, for example, is also banned.
But one of the most unique aspects of Bhutan's approach to development is that progress is not solely defined on the basis of economic achievements as is true in other countries. The level of cultural and environmental preservation and development are also considered. In other words, Bhutan recognizes that progress and prosperity do not need to come at the expense of the cultural wealth of the people.
Progress does not need to include becoming a carbon copy of the United States, where the money and power brokers have sometimes been allowed to sacrifice the country's historical and cultural heritages in their pursuit of the “almighty dollar.” Bhutan is avoiding this soul-destroying mistake, and Nagaland should take a good hard look at Bhutan's example in this respect and not allow the good and valuable aspects of Naga culture to be lost in the quest for progress.
You don't have to be like a Korean, or an American, or a Bollywood or Hollywood star in every way to be cool. The coolest guy is the one that everyone else is rushing to copy. The copycats are just that—copycats! Very much about the Naga culture is very cool. Instead of trying to be like everyone else, Nagas should work on developing the comprehensive health and prosperity of Naga society to such an unprecidented degree that the world will want to copy Nagas, rather than Nagas copying the world! And the place we can start is learning the Bible-based principles that God has given for the purpose of fulfilling His promise of prosperity and health.
God has always wanted to have a special people on earth whom He could use to show off the superiority of His way of doing things. He tried to make ancient Israel that people who would showcase the benefits of living in harmony with all God's wisdom, but they got tired of being different. They thought it would be more cool to be like everyone else. And in the process of becoming like all the other nations, they eventually lost everything.
In the beginning, God had told them, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you,” Exodus 15:26. And that promise is still there for any people who will listen to the wisdom of God and practice it. Could the Nagas of Nagaland become the people God uses to showcase His comprehensive health and prosperity plan to the world?
Your health is your wealth. It is the most important asset that you own. With comprehensive health of body, mind and spirit, you can accomplish anything that is in harmony with the will of God. Nothing will be impossible for you if it is in harmony with righteousness. And when the larger proportion of society and of government is composed of people with high levels of physical, mental and moral health, we will have a society with correspondingly low levels of disease, dishonesty, crime and corruption.
That society will become a showcase society. And the other peoples of the world will say, “Surely this great [people] is a wise an d understanding people. For what great [people] is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?” Deuteronomy 4:6, 7.
(Ian Anthony Jones is a health educator and missionary from the US now married to a Naga and residing in Dimapur. He will be contributing every Friday to the Morung Express under the column: Health & Healing. You may contact the Health and Healing columnist and give him feedback at: edenbarak.ngo@gmail.com)
