08/10/2025
Biblically, How Should We Use Our Hands?
December 11, 2022
We use our hands in doing almost all our activities. Getting out of bed, brushing our teeth, taking a bath, using our phones—you name it – our hands play a vital role. Having no hands seems to make a lot of things impossible to do. But more than our hands’ essential functions, many people are still unaware of our Creator’s intention with our hands. Read further to learn more.
Our hands make us different.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/54vExSgA02NV95aj6SMO8IiaCn2CsnKE8TIj9-te1A6ylmpSWFKD7BHyn3bdNZPRVnk7ZhKRzbgLBOFln8GEywZkHp4nOdRsoimhaJvGjvuj3mu8_notunGys90cGJ4xKQMINI3XwlENhJE7INBp1SPsvpILZUHqBYFjc39v7cxzHDOdqthmva6pd0HZPw
Modern devices use fingerprints as a reliable security measure, and this is because experts assert that every individual has a unique set of fingerprints which serve as his identifying marks. The first European to conclude this was the German anatomist Johann Christoph in 1788. Almost a century later, Henry Faulds, a Scottish scientist, shared the same belief.
But they were not the first to think that every human has a fingerprint different from the others. Ancient history indicates that law reinforcements would take fingerprints of crime suspects as early as the reign of Babylonian king Hammurabi in 1792–1750 BCE. China did the same centuries ago when people were identified through their fingerprints.
True enough, the Bible tells something about our fingerprints:
Job 37:7 —
He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work.
The verse suggests that every man’s hand has a seal or mark, and based on scientific findings, we can logically assume that the seal pertains to our fingerprints.
Our hands can alleviate depression and anxiety.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/jPeQ9tpq5TdZsaorE6l9uiqi7XDTUPVKVXSQQidsIYS7izhfFm4HnM3uBR5h4nMr3Gw7NqH9W12B7G0ElujtDnKNbwuXq0XdR1ynT7xw4EA1US9eWfezSicTq90vWrl8pESyArH6RTAtg0zfOE9QSCRcwB3lnLY2FAtivyQuvPlIhiztZhA71cd0i6YFBw
Depression and anxiety are severe medical conditions faced by many people today. But did you know that a touch from a friend or a loved one can help alleviate these conditions?
Oxytocin, also known as the love hormone, is a naturally occurring hormone produced in our brain called the hypothalamus, which the pituitary gland releases into the bloodstream once triggered by a particular action, such as touching. Research shows that a simple touch could increase oxytocin levels which is therapeutic to people who experience depression and anxiety.
Our hands can relieve stress.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/FwX4ezsSm0yOAuPoyz2D5SkQshymD6vP282hTEjmBdmEEPXSbPwCd-S031NkT19ZR_iC8P88aIr2nTdjMNC3HpygDmN73yXHT374aE-j7ZBQnzh0MLMJ588eAkmzAamtyQNbLfi2OB5ARWI4WvL-sCJIj-XHLoC12JpAwHcwF1rqk6nHk3kvDoAw0h_vxw
If there is a love hormone, there is also a stress hormone called cortisol. Oxytocin counteracts cortisol, according to studies. Therefore, the more you experience love from your surroundings, the less you get stressed. If you see someone who seems to be experiencing stress, give him a simple pat on the shoulder to brighten his mood.
We are made by God to do good works.
The physical benefits of touch are aligned with the words of God.
Ephesians 2:10 —
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
As the verse says, God created people to do good works. Helping people ease their worries and pains with simple touch is a good deed, much more so if we use our hands to cook meals for them or write them a comforting letter.
Of course, we should not use our hands to steal or make the lives of others miserable.
Ephesians 4:28 —
Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
God wants us to use our hands to labor for ourselves and not to steal from what others have labored for. Moreover, He even instructed us to give to the needy if we have something to offer. Apostle Paul set an example to the early Christians when he used his hands to support his needs and the needs of others.
Acts 20:34-35 —
Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Paul emphasized what our Lord Jesus Christ said: It is better to give than to receive. Therefore, to follow this commandment, we must work, especially if we have the capacity, for us to be able to give to those in need.
2 Thessalonians 3:10 —
For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
Paul also taught the Thessalonians that they should work if they wanted to eat. It implies that a person has no right to eat if he refuses to work despite his not being incapacitated.
These are just some bits of wisdom from the Bible that teach us the proper use of our hands. Christians are not meant to be lazy or unproductive; instead, they should be fruitful and zealous in doing good works.
Titus 2:14 —
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
References:
Are fingerprints determined by genetics?: MedlinePlus Genetics. (n.d.).
https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/traits/fingerprints/
Ashbaugh (1999), p. 15.
Lee, H. J., Macbeth, A. H., Pagani, J., & Young, W. S. (2009). Oxytocin: The Great Facilitator of Life.
Progress in Neurobiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pneurobio.2009.04.001
Mayer, Johann Christoph Andreas (1788). Anatomische Kupfertafeln nebst dazu gehörigen Erklärungen
[Anatomical Illustrations (etchings) with Accompanying Explanations, volume 4]. Berlin, Prussia: Georg Jacob Decker und Sohn. p. 5.
Stan Z. Li (2009). Encyclopedia of Biometrics: I – Z Volume 2. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 510.
ISBN 978-0387730028.
Watson, S. (2021, July 20). Oxytocin: The love hormone. Harvard Health.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/oxytocin-the-love-hormone
