I learned this the hard way, about a year into my job training tactical athletes in the U.S. special operations community. An entire team of men that I worked with was shot out of the sky in Afghanistan, and no one survived.
These men who had become my friends had no opportunity to defend themselves. These fathers, husbands, sons, and friends had trusted me to prepare them for combat, and I wondered if I had done enough.
In the time since their deaths, I’ve learned the truth that we are more than physical beings. We aren’t just a configuration of bone, muscle, connective tissue, and brains. We’re much more than what we see in the mirror.
We are body, soul, and spirit—tripartite beings, made in the image of the three-person God.

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23

As a human performance coach, I now understand the importance of training the whole man.
We constantly hear about the importance of diet and exercise and their health benefits for our bodies. Those are facts. But physical training affects the other dimensions of our being, and vice versa.

“If the body is sick the mind worries and the spirit grieves; if the mind is sick the body and the spirit will suffer from its confusion; if the spirit is sick there will be no will to care for the body or mind.”
 J. R. Worsely

So not only is it true that sickness in one area will negatively impact the others; it’s also true that improving health in each area improves health in the others.
Spiritual health affects soul and physical health. Physical health affects spiritual and soul health, and soul health affects the health of spirit and body. It is of absolute importance that we take care of each of these three dimensions of our being if we’re ever to find complete health.
The men of Junto Tribe are on a quest to align body, mind, and spirit in service to the One who created them. We are learning that our value originates from God’s purpose for our lives rather than from the work we do, our material success, or our personal gain.
God has a unique purpose for each of us, and though my journey won’t look exactly like yours, there are certain roles that each of us is created to fill. When we seek our marching orders from God, we’ll discover our purpose here and we’ll be less likely to believe the lies that the world tells us.
If you’ve never seriously considered your purposes here on earth, join us on the journey. Check out the website. Read our previous messages. Learn the seven archetypes that Jesus revealed as God’s design for men.
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