The Body Matters - Day 226 Month 8-13 Week 33-2
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
2 Samuel 24, Proverbs 19:1-15, Ezekiel 25:8-17, 1 Corinthians 6:12-7:40
The Body Matters
I found 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 quite sobering.
I have not hidden the truth that I am a Jesus follower. Since this entire blog is based on reading the bible in one year, you, the reader, will assume I am a person of faith. I try to glean truth from every day of reading and relate what has affected me on each day.
As a Jesus follower, I have put my trust and faith in Jesus who died and rose again and through that, He gave the one and only sacrifice that is required for me to be justified and able to stand before a Holy God. The only action I needed to do to be justified was believe and put my faith in Jesus. It’s a free gift. That means my sin is forgiven and I can stand before God because of what Jesus has done, not because I have lived a perfect life.
This could be interpreted as a license to sin.
Paul says “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12). Now Paul is talking about immorality and the example he is using is being with a prostitute. Being with a prostitute, just like in marriage “The Two shall become one flesh” (1 Corinthians 6:16). That means you have joined your body with a prostitute, yet as a Jesus follower, you are united with the Lord. The two are not compatible but are at odds with each other.
Paul goes on to explain “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)?
Paul explains why sexual immorality is wrong even though we have already been justified.
Paul is specifically talking about sexual immorality here, but it also makes me think about how I treat my body in general. Two examples may be gluttony and alcoholism.
I am one who can often fall into the trap of gluttony. I love food. Now, I’m not a foody in the sense that I am always trying different fancy foods. I’m a foody because I love to eat. I can never have too many carbs and I really like beef, especially prime rib and definitely don’t leave out dessert. If pumpkin pie is being served with whipped cream, I’m pretty sure I still have space for 2 pieces even though I’m already full from my turkey dinner. After a little while I’ve put on a bunch of weight. That’s extra weight on the temple of the Holy Spirit. That is putting my temple at risk of early death.
I also love beer and wine. I don’t think I have ever been “drunk” depending on your definition but I could easily enjoy a couple of glasses of wine or beer each day simply because I like them. A couple of alcoholic drinks a day can easily stretch to 3 and on the odd time, 4 and then maybe 6 beers when I’m with friends. I’m not going to use the slippery slope mindset but what I will say is moderation is important. This year, we have a little debt we’d like to clear so we’ve been drinking less. In previous years, I’d say I’d have 4 drinks a week on average and this year, because we are trying to spend less, I maybe have 1 drink a week and sometimes none.
So where is all this rambling taking us? Moderation and health are important. Staying away from immorality and unhealthy living is good for the body and looking after the body is good for the temple. We should look after the temple because we belong to Christ, our bodies matter and how we live matters.
Have a great day!
Steve
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