I Let the Temple Fall Apart. Here's What My Labs Proved.

I want to talk to you about something personal this week. Something I have been avoiding for longer than I care to admit.

Last week I sat in a doctor's office and got my comprehensive lab results back. And brothers, the numbers did not lie. They never do.

"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

I have preached accountability for years. I have sat across from men and challenged them to own their lives, their marriages, their faith. And all the while I was quietly neglecting one of the most basic responsibilities God gave me.

My body. The temple He lives in.

The numbers I'm not hiding from

Here is what my labs showed. I am sharing these not for sympathy but because I believe this community was built on honesty, and honesty has to start with me.

LDL Cholesterol

162

Goal: under 99

Triglycerides

203

Goal: under 149

HDL (Good)

33

Goal: over 39

Liver (ALT)

121

Goal: under 44

Add to that a body weight 30 pounds over where it needs to be, a CPAP machine I stopped using years ago, a statin I stopped taking because I thought I could handle it on my own, and a workout routine that had gone completely dark.

That is not a health crisis in the making. That is a slow, self-inflicted one already in progress.

The thing nobody wants to say out loud

I let Brotherhood Forged, content creation, and every other good thing in my life become an excuse to neglect my body. I told myself I was too busy. Too focused on mission. Too tired in the mornings.

But here is the truth I had to face: you cannot pour from an empty vessel. And a vessel that is crumbling cannot hold much for long.

God did not design us to lead from a place of physical neglect. He gave us this body as a gift and a responsibility. When we ignore it, we are not just hurting ourselves. We are limiting what He can do through us.

"The enemy is not the pizza or the busy schedule. The enemy is the version of you who has been negotiating with the alarm clock every morning and calling it wisdom."

What I'm doing about it starting today

I am not writing this from the other side of victory. I am writing this from Day 1. This is my public commitment to a 90-day health reset built around five pillars: sleep, nutrition, movement, medications, and mindset.

I restarted my statin this morning. I have a doctor's appointment next week to review these labs together and build a plan with my physician. I have a sleep study appointment coming in late July. And today I laced up and I am getting after it.

No more waiting for Monday. No more "I'll start when things slow down." Things do not slow down. You just decide.

The challenge for every man reading this

If you have been avoiding your own mirror, your own labs, your own scale, your own truth, this is your invitation to stop avoiding it.

• When did you last get a full blood panel? Book it this week.

• Are you honoring God with the body He gave you, or just surviving in it?

• Is there one habit you know needs to change that you have been calling "not that big a deal"?

• Who in your brotherhood knows your real health situation? Tell them this week.

• What would it mean for your family, your mission, and your legacy if you showed up fully healthy for the next 20 years?
  

Iron sharpens iron. That means we do not let each other quietly fall apart. If you are struggling in this area, bring it to the brotherhood. You do not have to white-knuckle this alone.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Philippians 4:13

I will be tracking every week. We do not perform. We pursue.

Day 1 starts now. Let's go.

Joey Koontz is the co-founder of Brotherhood Forged Men's Mastermind and co-host of the Brotherhood Forged Podcast. He lives in Carlisle, Ohio with his wife Bobbie and is committed to leading men toward faith, accountability, and resilience.