Health - good health - is almost always a personal choice. I know, Billy Bob, there are those sicknesses that blind-side us, passed down to us by heredity or given to us by the simplicity of a strangers sneeze. But, just for this brief essay, let’s talk about the major health stalkers - the “predators of health.”

First, right at the top of my list is - you bet - smoking. Oh, come on, Bubba, this isn’t 1956. It is 2010. There is no scientific or medical doubt, the jury is in, the evidence is fully tested. Smoking is deadly to your health. Smoking not only sucks the life out of your body, it sucks the bucks out of your wallet. And keep this in mind - knowing what we know now - smoking in the presence of a child is “child abuse.”

Oh, did that upset you? Try this - strap a kid into a chair, light up your cigarette and blow smoke into his little face. What? Did that upset you? You’d never do that? What’s the difference in that and driving in your car, windows up, kid in the back seat (hopefully strapped in) and you and wife puffin’ away? There is no difference at all. It is simply child abuse. Bubba, secondary smoke is deadly.

Excessive eating, second on my list. Obesity - not just being slightly overweight, but obese - is deadly. The excessive weight “crushes” the body’s infrastructure - the bones, ligaments, cartilage - and places stress on vital organs: heart, lungs, kidneys, mouth and brain. The stress of obesity also crushes our love life, working life and social life. Obesity and self-confidence are impossible partners.

Obesity is a ruthless medical condition, one most often induced by stress. Please, if you are obese or your child is obese, seek medical help - call me - do something to change the tide.

Third on my list is perpetual rest of the mortal body, the lack of exercise. DaMarkus, I know you’ve described exercise as a “trip to the fridge for a beer and then back to the couch for the game.” Sorry, that just doesn’t work. You need to move your muscles, increase your heart rate, challenge your lungs and get the “blood to flow.” Oh, where to start you ask? Walk each and every day. Join a gym - find a “buddy” to exercise with - hey, call me and I’ll help you set direction (no charge for the consult of you mention LaGrange Daily News).

There are many truths. This is one: every one of you deserves to be healthy and loved. God gives us life to live. We live it to its fullest when we are happy and healthy. Please, life is so precious. If you smoke, stop. If you can’t control your diet, seek help. If you are lethargic and idle, seek a “partner in health.”

I know that each week most of you worship in a “temple of God.” Please remember this - there is no temple as sacred as the temple of your body.