Cafeteria Christianity: Prosperity — Wednesday
1 Corinthians 6:19
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… (NIV)
Are you the type of person who counts every calorie and gets up at 5am every morning to go to the gym? No? Me either! If I ever have a 6-pack, it’ll be some nice, cold Coca-Cola in my fridge, and I’ll drink it while I watch American Ninja Warrior.
I’ll admit that I’ve never been obsessed with my health or looking my best in a tank top and shorts. But I know several people who are. Now don’t get me wrong—putting effort into taking care of your health is noble, even biblical. But if you’re obsessing over 3% body fat or how much you can lift or how fast you can run or how you look in a bathing suit, perhaps you need to look at your motives. You may find that you’re doing it for selfish reasons, for the praises of men.
But what about our verse above? If our body is a temple, shouldn’t we work hard to make it the best it can be? Yes! We are absolutely called to steward it well. But what (or who) is your body a temple for? It’s not your temple, so that you can accept the worship of others. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Paul said, “Run in such a way as to win the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24b). Is Paul giving us workout advice? What prize is he talking about? A trophy, or a great body? No—the race we must “run” well is the race to advance the gospel of Christ. Our primary focus and reward is knowing Jesus and helping other people know Him, too. So if there’s one motivation we should have for pursuing health, it’s to enable us to do that well.
Our world has a tendency to elevate health in, ironically, unhealthy ways, and it can become yet another form of success we feel the pressure to achieve. But you see, God already knows your flaws, your body fat, your chocolate addiction (ok… my chocolate addiction). He loves you anyway, and accepts you anyway. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, you are already perfect in His eyes—and that has nothing to do with your bathing suit.
It’s a good thing to take care of the bodies God has given us. So by all means, eat right! But enjoy the ice cream occasionally. Exercise, but not to the point you hurt yourself. Hey—walking, pickleball, and disc golf are all great exercises, too. So have fun with it!
At the end of the day, I think if we retire with a little extra weight and little less strength than in our youth, but we can smile when we talk about our Savior and what we’ve seen Him do in our lives and others’, then we’ve used our temple for the right kind of worship.
Wednesday’s Reflection
Do you obsess over your health, or do you just ignore it? Pray about what God wants for you when it comes to your health, and then determine one small change you’re going to make over the next few weeks.