My Body, My Temple

Corinthians 6:19-20 (New International Version)

¹⁹ 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; ²⁰ you were bought at a price.

Therefore honor God with your bodies.

What does it mean to treat our body like a temple of God?  How does one honor God with our body?  In today's society, this almost seems like an oxymoron.  Our society is one that wants to worship our bodies and ourselves not honor God. I have decided to make an intentional effort to honor God through my body, His temple, and not worship myself, nor material things, through my body.  I'll be honest... this is an ongoing effort. 

As much as we are created BY God, we are created FOR God, and we are also called to be the hands and feet OF God -- to go and do what he calls us to do. 

In Corinthians 6:19-20,  our bodies are labeled temples of the Holy Spirit.  And throughout the Bible we are called to go and do what God commands, then that makes us each a tabernacle (a portable temple) of God. 

The Tabernacle was first esblished in Exodus.  Once God had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, He instructed Moses to construct a tabernacle--a temple that could be transported along with the Israelites in the course of their journeys.  These were the first temples.

Exodus 25:8
 ⁸ “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them."

God then goes on to describe what the Tabernacle should look like.  I'll do my own little paraphrasing because it's a rather long passage.  He commands an ark made of wood, overlayed with pure gold, inside and out.  He then commands poles to be inserted into the ark to carry the tables of the covenant law.  These poles, carrying the tables, were not to be removed.

 A temple is a structure reserved for spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice. When I think of a temple, I think of a beautiful dwelling; one that people admire and want to look inside and spend time in.    It is NOT to be a place of idol worship or the selling of goods.  In Mathew 21; 12-13, Jesus became furious of what was happening inside the temple.  He raged and overthrew tables, one of the only examples (that I can recall) in the Bible where Jesus was clearly angry.

Mathew 21; 12-13

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer;

but ye have made it a den of thieves.

So here we are;   we are walking temples.  Human Tabernacles.

What does this look like in my life (again, this is an ongoing process...)

1.  My body will be a house of prayer.  His laws will not be removed from this tabernacle, but will go wherever I go.

2.  I will present my body in an attractive manner, however excessive time attending to it cannot be had.  I will be clean, smell fresh, and be groomed.  My clothes will not be shabby.  For me, this means 45 minutes in the morning to get dressed - from start to finish.  My dress will not be gaudy or call attention to itself, but it will be subtle and sophisticated.

3.  I will NOT sell or advertise goods that are not of God.  This means that I will not advertise material items or brands.  I will not dress promiscuously or any way that call attention to my figure and draw attention away from God, the one who created me.

4.  I will ingest things that make me healthy and strong, and I will not be a worshipper of food.  Yes, this even means healthy food and healthy recipes that can take my attention.

5.  My sacrafice will be within my actions of being the hands and feet of God.  I will continue to strive for a meek and humble spirit (not a natural presence for me).  I will strive to be last, not first, and put my own intersts aside to be able to serve others and worship God.

If my body is a dwelling place of God where the Holy Spirit resides (Corinthians 6:19-20 ) this means that, in a sense, I drag God into everything I do with my body. It's not my body to do what I please with, to wear what I want, to drink what I want, eat what I want, watch what I want, listen to what I want.....   I shouldn't eat what I want, do what feels good with it, put poison into it, and use it for things God hates. This house was bought at a very expensive price; in fact, the highest price ever paid - the life of the sinless Son of God.

My new lease on life includes me treating my body like what it really is. It's the property of God!