For many years I have held a life & health insurance license but no longer sell insurance. I still receive tons of information. The life expectancy of the average American is 78.1 years. Those living on the island of Okinawa off the coast of Japan, 50 out of every 100,000 live to reach the age of 100. In the U.S. only 20 out of 100,000 live to be centenarians.

It is estimated that how long we live, 25% depend on our genes and the other 75% depends upon the decisions we make daily. Should we make the right choices, our chances of living another 10 to 20 years longer are enhanced greatly. The problem most every one of us has concerning how long we live is not important until we reach the age of 50. By then, the life we have lived could subtract 10 to 20 years.

Most Americans think they are immortal until about 50 and then they realize they had better start taking better care of themselves. Therefore, what are we told to do from the very beginning?

Exercise: We should do a minimum of 30 minutes a day of exercise. We do not need to run marathons or become body builders. The more active we are the greater our chance of having healthy bodies.

Weight control: It is most difficult to stay on a regular diet of the right kind of foods. Those who live the longest eat a lot of whole grains, vegetables, fruits and very little meat. Seventh-day Adventists are told to eat nuts in place of junk food. Statistics show they live longer than the average American.

Reduce stress: Working many years for a large corporation my life seemed to be quite stressful. However, I have later learned it wasn’t necessary. The more mature I became spiritually, the more I learned to trust God and the greater I realized that the Holy Spirit was there to help me; my life has become stress-free. The only time I feel the slightest stress is sometimes driving back and forth to work. Lots of crazy drivers!

Statistics show that stress can be a “killer”. It produces stress hormones that can cause inflammation throughout the body.

Make family life rewarding: I previously blogged: “The love that holds marriages together – forever”. Since our children left home I have had no stress in our marriage. It is almost impossible to raise children without having stressful times. But a lot of it was a result of our parenting. Before we had children they did not have any psychology books on how to rear a child. Had I better understood the Bible I would have prayed as I wrote in the previous blog: “Teach us to pray”. When raising children, we should go to the Bible for direction first instead of when all else fails.

Remember: for every action there is a re-action. Every time we do something or make a statement there are consequences. If we are following God’s “will” the consequence will be a blessing. If we disobey, the consequences may be unfavorable. Be careful how we treat our families. We can create positive results just as easily as we can cause negative consequences.

The importance of being spiritual: Finally, the chance of living to 100, according to statistics, improves with one’s faith in God. Those who are devoted in their relationship with God and do the above mentioned recommendations, normally live longer. Yet, many Christians do not study the Bible realizing that God is writing personally to every one of us. He is telling us how much He loves us and that He wants what is best for us. He has given us a manual for living and yet we often ignore it. If we read carefully we can become better off financially and live healthier lives.

Too often we read the Bible believing that God is going to “zap us” if we do anything wrong. So we read wondering what we shouldn’t be doing. On average, those having reached spiritual maturity and love God with all of their might and love others have a much better chance of lasting longer.