Temple

by Stephanie King

“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” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

How does a Human Anatomy teacher get her high school students excited about studying the intricacies of the human body’s inner workings? She doesn’t because they’re teenagers, and very little in the classroom excites them. But in a Christian school, she might tell them it honors God to learn all we can about the vessel He gave us for walking around in—that studying the ways we were knit together and are fearfully and wonderfully made is a form of worship. Hopefully this would be enough to get some of the class to take interest in each organ’s location and role within the body’s systems.

This same teacher might years later have to eat her own words as she sits on a heating pad, recovering from a back injury incurred from the simplest of tasks—painting her toenails.

I am that teacher. While I’m thankful I didn’t also sneeze while painting my nails, which might’ve resulted in instant paralysis, I woke up this morning lamenting to God about my body falling apart.

And do you know what the Creator of the universe said to me? “Fix it. Treat your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, for that honors me.”

The audacity! I would like all my problems supernaturally handled and my ailments healed without having to get out of my chair, please. Why must I fix it?

In Romans 12:1, Paul says, “I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him” (NLT). Sacrifice by its very nature requires a great price, surrendering something precious. Comfort and convenience are precious. Doing what I want, when I want, feels precious and difficult to give up.

Caring for my body is not a way to earn God’s favor. I already have that because I was bought at a price I could never pay. But it’s about being a good steward of the blessings He’s already given me, which requires sacrifice on my part. Just as a building made of brick and stone needs upkeep to prevent crumbling, maintaining the temple of the Holy Spirit involves moving when I’d prefer to sit and eating with intention rather than impulse (looking at you, potato chips). This body isn’t mine to neglect, and I honor God by honoring it.

So let this be your inspiration today to take care of your health and steward the vessel God gave you for walking around in, but be careful out there. We’re all just one awkward stretch away from a life lesson.