1 Corinthians 3:16-17
You realize, don’t you, that
you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one
will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that.
God’s temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
Everywhere we turn, someone
is telling us how to treat our bodies. Eat this…don’t eat that…use this
workout program to lose the most weight in the shortest amount of
time…stop smoking…drink responsibly…just say no to drugs…take this
drug/supplement…beware of XYZ medication if you suffer from any of a
litany of conditions, and anticipate even worse side effects than what
you took the drug to treat in the first place…YOU may be a candidate for
lapband or the latest curative surgery…visit ABC cosmetic center and
get lifted, tucked, lipo’d and restructured! It’s all a bit mind
boggling!
Not to be outdone, we can work on our hearts and
minds, as well. We can read books, watch videos, and attend seminars to
get ahead in our careers, better parent our children, rescue any
relationship, and improve our abilities to be all that we can be!
When
we read this passage from Paul to the people of Corinth, we generally
tend to think in terms of things like overeating, smoking, drinking and
drug abuse. But if we stop and consider His words carefully…that our
body is God’s sacred temple…we come to realize that most of us vandalize
this “temple” every single day in one way or another. I keep being
reminded of the phrase, “Garbage in…garbage out!”
I am guilty of
eating the wrong things – and too much in general. I spend excess time
in front of a TV or computer screen rather than exercising my body. I am
also prone to watch more reality TV than I should, spend too much time
viewing one more cute cat video that I found on Facebook or “liking”
other friends’ posts…and giving far too much energy and consideration to
“mindless drivel” and “piddling”. And I am not all that different from
you or anyone else.
Not a single one of us would seriously
consider vandalizing property – our own or that of another person. Most
certainly, we would never even think about doing harm to a church or
temple. So why do we treat our own “temples” so cavalierly?
We
talk about doing all the right things…but we often do exactly the
opposite. Why is this? Why do we “vandalize” our “temples?” I know it
sounds cliché, but I believe it comes down to a matter of willpower -
ours (fueled by encouragement from the devil) vs. that of God Almighty.
This is why Paul tells us in Romans 7:14-16 that “Yes. I’m full of
myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t
understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act
another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to
figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious
that God’s command is necessary.”
This is our answer, also.
God’s command IS necessary. We must spend more time with Him, learning
His ways, listening for His voice…and putting His will for our lives
into action. It may be challenging at first – maybe even a little bit
difficult as we surrender to God and allow Him to have control. But we
will be healthier in every way because of it. We will be stronger – and
ultimately more confident and complete - because of WHO is powering our
efforts. Our “temples” will glorify God and represent a place that He
is proud to inhabit. This should be our ultimate goal! Is it yours?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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