When the Body and the Church Are Inflamed

We know from science and experience that what we put into our bodies matters. If we eat foods high in sugar, processed fats, and chemicals, our bodies respond with inflammation. At first, that inflammation is the body’s way of saying, “Something isn’t right here.” But over time, if ignored, it can cause chronic pain, fatigue, disease, and even permanent damage.

In many ways, Christianity today is going through something similar. It is not inflamed with the pure gospel of Jesus Christ but, as the Apostle Paul warned, with “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6–7). Just as toxic food can inflame the body, toxic teaching and misplaced allegiances can inflame the church.

The Nervous System of the Body

Our nervous system is designed to regulate balance in the body. When it is working well, it communicates safety, allows us to heal, and gives us rest. But when the nervous system is constantly over-activated—through stress, fear, or trauma—it wreaks havoc: sleep becomes shallow, blood pressure rises, digestion suffers, and the immune system weakens.

An unbalanced nervous system can keep the body in constant “fight or flight,” burning energy on fear instead of healing, on reaction instead of renewal.

The Nervous System of Christianity

In the same way, when Christianity is inflamed by nationalism, culture wars, and political rhetoric, it enters a kind of spiritual “fight or flight.” Instead of resting in the finished work of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, many believers are burning energy defending ideologies, propping up worldly systems, and fighting battles Jesus never called us to fight.

This inflamed Christianity is toxic—it mirrors the world rather than transforming it. It waves flags of nations more loudly than it lifts up the cross of Christ. It consumes cultural junk food: fear-driven news cycles, divisive rhetoric, and the pursuit of earthly power. And like the body on a bad diet, it becomes sick, weary, and ineffective.

Another Gospel vs. The True Gospel

Paul’s words to the Galatians echo across time:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.”—Galatians 1:6–7

The “different gospel” of our time often looks like Christianity but tastes like something else. It is flavored with political idolatry, cultural outrage, and power-hungry agendas. It leaves us inflamed, suspicious of neighbors, and weary of soul.

A Christianity That Heals

But there is another way. A Christianity that does not bow down to culture wars but bows to Jesus. A faith that does not feed on outrage but on the Bread of Life. A body that is not inflamed but alive, nourished, and balanced by the Spirit of God.

This is the Christianity from heaven—the one where the nervous system of the soul rests secure in the love of the Father, where Jesus is not a mascot for a political agenda but the Savior of the world, and where the Holy Spirit brings healing, conviction, and freedom.

When the church feeds on this diet—the living Word, the presence of Christ, and the renewing Spirit—it finds health again. The inflammation fades. The body recovers. And the world sees not a people consumed by anger or fear, but a people transformed by love.

Closing Thought

Just as we must choose carefully what we feed our bodies, we must also choose carefully what we feed our souls. Junk food brings disease. Junk gospel brings division. But the Bread of Life brings healing.

Now is the time to detox from “another gospel” and embrace the true one: the gospel of Jesus Christ, who alone brings peace to our nervous systems, healing to our souls, and life to a weary church.