You can’t turn on the t.v. now a days without seeing one. You can’t log onto the internet without catching at least one headline about it either. Right up there with politics is a bunch of stuff about health and fitness. You name it, it’s there–from which diets offer the tastiest food, to the eight best foods for burning fat, to the eight best exercises for rock hard abs. And, of course, there is the latest news on the obesity epidemic and how all of us need to have the perfect Body Mass Index. We even hear stories of schools in Chicago implementing mandatary buying of school lunches because they are healthier for you. Over and over again, we get assaulted by these stories of how we should be taking better care of our bodies.
On the one hand, these stories give us a tremendous sense of guilt. I mean, who really has time to implement all the things these stories tell you to do? How many of us have the resources to eat perfectly healthy as we go about our daily lives? I mean, I’ve got three kids who are very picky about what they eat. Have you ever tried to get kids to appreciate the goodness of asparagus? It ain’t easy, my friends, and when you pop those chicken nuggets in the microwave to avoid the fight, you sigh heavily and wonder if you are permanently damaging your kids’ health. –As just an aside, my pediatrician once said it’s remarkable how kids can survive on macaroni and cheese for a whole year or two and still turn out fine. If you are like me, don’t feel too guilty. But those stories and pieces of advice are few and far between. No. Instead we get images of people with toned arms, legs, and abs. We get told over and over again that we need to be doing at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. And if we’re not doing such a thing, we are some sort of horrible person.
On the other hand, these stories can also inspire us and motivate us to actually take care of ourselves. I know that I’ve found a few in particular that have helped me as I have tried to stay in shape and work out. I found a great one on kettlebell and another one on a push up and squat routine. I even found one that informed me that bike riding burned more calories than walking. I’ve made a few dietary changes based upon some of these articles as well, and I hope for the better. Time will tell. I’ll keep reading some of the articles and perhaps making adjustments in my diet and in my exercise, but it’s not because I am guilty about the way my body looks. It’s not because I believe I need to be healthier to live longer. Neither is it to decrease my Body Mass Index. Truth be known, I’m actually trying to increase that right now, but that’s beside the point. One of the reasons I strive to take care of myself is found in our second lesson this morning from the book of 1 Corinthians.
St. Paul is addressing some sticky issues in the church at Corinth. Remember, St. Paul strongly preached that we are saved by grace through faith alone and not by any works that we could possibly do. In fact, Paul went so far as to say that we are no longer under the discipline of the Law. If you don’t believe me, take a gander at Galatians chapter 3. Verses 23-26 read, "Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith." The folks in Corinth read this, and they ran with it. They basically thought, "Well, if we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, we can just do whatever we want. We can have all the fun in the world because all things are lawful!"
Paul doesn’t disagree. Take note of that. Paul agrees with them in saying that all things are lawful, but he adds a very important caveat, "All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial. All things are lawful, but I will not be dominated by anything." Paul goes on to talk about food and extra marital sex. Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will destroy both. And our bodies are made for the Lord and the Lord for our bodies. They are not made for sexual impurity. Paul argues vehemently that since our bodies are members of Christ’s body, there are certain things that are not beneficial when two become one flesh.
And as Paul begins wrapping up his argument, he says something else that is very, very important.
Paul says in verse 19, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?" Take note of this because of it’s implications. "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God." Think about that for just a minute and realize that Paul is not only talking to those in Corinth, but he is talking to you and me as well. "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you which you have from God." Your body is a temple where God lives. What do you think this means when it comes to taking care of the place where God lives? Do you think this means we should do whatever we want to our bodies? Do you think this means we should abuse our bodies and put them through all kinds of punishing things?
No! Not in the least. If God lives in us...if our bodies are His temple, then shouldn’t we care for His temple? Shouldn’t we seek to fix it up and keep it in good shape? Shouldn’t we care for it and treat it as something precious? Personally, I know this motivates me to continue to exercise. It makes me continue to work to stay in shape. It motivates me to eat a little more healthier and make choices that honor this temple of God. I don’t exercise because I feel guilty. I exercise because I want to care for God’s temple. I’m trying to take Paul’s next admonition seriously, "For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body."
Oh, but I would be remiss if I didn’t also put in another one of the implications of what Paul says here. Yes, we are to glorify God in our bodies. Yes, we are to care for them. Yes, we are to make good choices based upon the fact that not all things are beneficial. All of this is very important. And, yet, it is only focused on ourselves. As Christians we are not only supposed to be focused on ourselves, we are also called to care for others. Sometimes that is a difficult task.
Again, think about Paul’s statement, "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God." Turn and look at the person sitting next to you. Turn and look around the church at all the people gathered here this morning. Realize that Paul has spoken this sentence to each and every one of them. Realize that all of us who are here this morning are temples of the Holy Spirit. All of us here this morning have God’s Spirit living within us, and realizing that, let me ask this question: How do you treat God’s temple? How do you treat someone who has God’s Spirit living within him or her?
Mother Teresa once said, "I believe in person to person; every person is Christ to me, and since there is only one Jesus, that person is only one person in the world for me at that moment..." What would our world look like if we treated one another in this fashion? What would our church look like if we treated one another as if we were seeing God living in each person who came through that door? What if we recognized that not only were we bought with a price but so was each and every child of God? Would that change the way we operated?
Christ admonishes us today, "Glorify God in our bodies." Let us not only remember to do this with ourselves, but to also recognize this in our neighbors as well. Amen.
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