Yes, it does matter!

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Scripture

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!
(1 Corinthians 6:15 NASB)
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
(1 Corinthians 6:19 NASB)
For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
(1 Corinthians 6:20 NASB)

 

Observation


Throughout the centuries there has been talk which has almost created a division between the body and the soul. Within the church we still talk about it sometimes without realizing what we're doing. We talk about "saving souls" or we wonder how someone's "soul" is when we're talking about their spiritual life. Paul was saying that you can't separate the body from the soul or spirit. They are knit together as one and when we are united with Christ, then what we do in the flesh has a direct impact on Christ. That is why Paul says that we are to glorify God in our body.

 

Application


I'm afraid that the church has not always taken this too seriously. Yes, it really does matter what we do with our bodies. Oh, we have certainly held out that we don't drink or smoke or do drugs, but what else do we do? In this case Paul is talking about someone sleeping with a prostitute. While we may say that we don't do that, how many Christian young people today are sleeping together before marriage? How acceptable is that becoming? Yes -- it really does matter! It's not just about our "soul" spiritually, but about our whole bodies and how we treat them. God intended for marriage and sex to be a sacred thing, shared by two individuals in a marriage relationship. So, yes, if we are doing what everyone else is doing, sorry -- but it's not what God intends for us to be doing. It is wrong, and yes, it does matter!

I have a terrible temptation to eat too much. It is a battle that I face nearly each and every single day and some days I do not win that battle! However, I know that when I put the wrong things into my body I feel bad. I don't have energy and I can literally be in a bad mood. So why do I do it? Often it's because I don't go to God for the help and/or comfort that I need and I seek it out elsewhere. So, yes, it does matter that I'm supposed to take good care of this body that God has given me. It is a part of my spiritual journey. I am supposed to eat right and get exercise, it is a spiritual discipline. Because my spirit/soul is not separate from this body that I have been given for this journey. The physical body that I have is a part of who I am and Paul understood this and therefore told his people that they were to glorify God in their bodies.

What a challenge to us today to realize that we are created to glorify him; that every aspect of who we are exists to glorify him. To realize that even the things we may not like about ourselves, he does, and so we need to take those things and allow him to sanctify and fill them so that they may give glory to Christ, just as he intended. So, what I eat today, what I wear today, what I do with my body today, does it matter? Yes -- it matters and God will use it to make a difference in this world.

 

Prayer


Lord, please help me be sensitive to giving you "all" of me on a daily basis. Amen.

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