“Treat your body like a temple, not a woodshed. God created the body and mind to work together. Your body needs to be a good support system for the mind and the spirit. If you take good care of it, your body can take you wherever you want to go, with the power and the strength and energy and vitality you will need to get there.” ~ Jim Rohn
When we study the human body, we quickly realize that it’s the most complex creation in the universe. God has wonderfully made every human being in three parts:
- Spirit (God deep down inside us – we must invite God’s Spirit to dwell inside us)
- Soul (Mind, Emotions, and Will – When the body dies, the soul continues forever if rightly related to God)
- Body (God’s temple, which is the chassis and transportation system for our Spirit and Soul)
Is our body a temple for the Spirit of God? Believers and non-believers both refer to their bodies as temples. Do they mean a temple admired and worshipped as an idol or a dwelling place for the Spirit of God? Where does this idea of the body as a temple come from in our culture?
The reference comes from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “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.”
If God wonderfully made each of us, the question that remains is for what purpose? Is the meaning of life merely existing in our current context, and whatever materializes is as good as it gets? Does the luck of the draw determine the future and the quality of our life? Or, did God have BIG plans in mind when creating each of us? How we answer these questions will determine how our lives turn out and how we treat our bodies.
If our bodies belong to us, we can speed through life, extracting all that we can from this world before our body dies. Or, we can go to great lengths to stay in shape and idolize our bodies, but the result is still the same, we all die in the end. Life is temporary and short, regardless if we abuse our bodies or idolize them.
What if our bodies are God’s temples, as Scripture says, and God’s Spirit desires nothing more than to dwell deep down inside each of us? If that’s true, what is the motivation of God’s Spirit for taking up residence inside us? Well, Jesus not only gave us the answer to this mystery He also demonstrated what it looks like to live a Spirit-filled life. Jesus told us we are to love God with our entire being, love others as ourselves so that we can help change the world. Change the world how? By giving our lives (body, soul, and Spirit) over to God so that God can use our lives as a sounding board for truth and help restore the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
Assuming this is true, and our bodies are a temple for God’s glory to reign and shine, what must we do to care for our bodies so that our body (God’s temple) is in the best possible shape to be of maximum service to God and the world in which we live.
Here are Five Ways to Honor God With Our Bodies:
- Discover and learn all that is possible about the human body: Accept the truth that God created us in God’s own image, which means we are wonderfully made.
- Don’t test the flesh: If we try the flesh, we lose every time. This principle means we must avoid putting ourselves in harm’s way by avoiding temptation at all costs.
- Appropriate self-care is a must: Our bodies require proper nutrition, rest, exercise, and love. The human body comes in all different shapes, sizes, and colors. We lose when comparing our bodies with others, and body shame has no place in the temple. God wonderfully made each of us; there has never been anyone like you, nor will there ever be again.
- Accept that life is a gift: Our life is a gift from God, and God designed our human experience to be a spiritual experience. The sky is the limit for what God will do in the Kingdom through each of our lives.
- Don’t become a hoarder of worldly stuff: Don’t fill the temple with junk—garbage in equals garbage out. We are responsible for what enters and exits the temple. Suppose we allow alcohol abuse, drugs, tobacco, porn, toxic news, fake news, personalities, and the twisted thoughts of what others think of us in the front door. In that case, the temple will become defiled and eventually non-functional. If your temple is a mess, don’t pass blame; own it, and then acquire the necessary help for getting God’s temple in order.
Today is the day to restructure our thinking and recommit ourselves to God’s purpose for our body, soul, and Spirit. We must regularly remember that God wonderfully made each of us, and we are holy and beautifully created in the image of God. God wants to do remarkable things through each of our lives, including blessing countless others and helping restore God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. What a privilege, honor, and experience that you don’t want to miss. The only way to bypass it is by choice, so choose wisely, siblings.
My Creator, I know I am wonderfully made in Your image. Thank you for this chance at life. You designed the human experience to be a spiritual experience, with Your Spirit dwelling deep down inside me. Please remove the lies I believe about my body and what the world says about my body. Please help me respect and treat my body like Your temple, a dwelling place for the Creator of the Universe, so you can use this temple to help change the world. In Your Spirit and Name, I pray these things. May Your will not mine always materialize, now and forever. Amen.
The image is by Michael Baumeister / https://unsplash.com/s/photos/human-body.
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