My Body the Temple
It has been quite some time since my last blog post, and I apologize for the inconsistency. I have had a lot happen in the mean time and would like to talk about a more recent life change I’ve had. Over the last year, and couple months, I’ve had a drastic lifestyle change contributing to my overall health. I have not talked a lot about why I’ve decided to do this, but I believe it’s time.
For years I’ve wondered what is the importance behind the in depth specifications and descriptions of God’s temple built by Solomon. And while I’m sure there are other deeper meanings, I realized that the attention to detail on the temple in 1 Kings 6 was due to the importance of the building being a host to God. The details had to be exceptional and exact, and even after it was built other rules had to be followed within the walls. It shouldn’t then come as a surprise that we see the following in 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;”
Many of us have heard or read this verse before but when you draw the comparison between the original Temple and the attention to detail it had, versus us being the Temple, there is an amazing parrallel. God wanted us to see the importance of his Temple in the Old Testament and under the old covenant to know how the Temple should be treated under the new covenant. Our bodies are designed for so much more than just work, play, eating, sleeping... we are designed to host the Holy Spirit. Why then would we allow it to not live up to the standards of the described temple in 1 Kings 6. Culture teaches us that our bodies are our own, but scripture teaches us that they are not our own. We are hosts to the Holy Spirit and should take care of what we have been entrusted to. Is this always easy? No. Is it always fun? No. But is it our responsibility? Yes.
Those of you who have known me for years know how much I love food. Chinese food is my favorite, and ice cream and fruit candies are my vices. For 30 years I lived without much thought for my health or body. Sure I always wished I was tone and looked great but I chocked it up to not having time to change and assuming it’s my body’s design. Friends would discuss their latest diets and exercises and I’d just kind of sit there and think, “yeah, that sounds miserable”. Then things started to finally catch up to me. Around college I started eating a lot more fast food due to cost and time (I know I’m not alone), and at that age it really wasn’t a big deal since for the most part, I was still rather athletic and active. The problem is that this habit of eating became a lifestyle for many years. My diet was to not biggie size my meal and only get the large. Then I would go home and sit down and watch tv or play video games. So my lifestyle really started to plummet. Sure I still had music and church activities, but that doesn’t do much in terms of healthy exercise activity. If anything this caused more of a strain on my food choices because I had less time and not much money for meals on the fly.
These habits, and my lack of exercise really caught up with me as I started having multiple health problems. I’ll spare you the in depth details, but basically my health was kind of starting to tail spin. My Liver and Pancreas levels were off and this led to tests and exams. My legs and back were constantly sore and some times causing so much pain I was having difficulty walking; and there were a couple other physical issues. Then I started having some mental issues like depression, frustration, and jealousy. I’m sure there are more if you ask my wife, but I kept trying to hide all these feelings. Then I felt the Lord telling me it’s time to stop my habits and update my lifestyle and get healthy. If I am trying to better my spiritual life, why wouldn’t I try and improve my physical and emotional life.
I figured all right, then let’s try and make this fun. So I bought a health tracker and started tracking my walking/running and all my food intake. Wow, painful, painful, painful. Running was causing a ton of pain because I was overweight and ramping up way too fast, so I switched to cycling. It’s now been around 14mo of cycling and drastically changing my eating to a much healthier lifestyle. I’ve since lost between 45-50lbs (it fluctuates), and feel much better physically and mentally.
Take a look at 1 Corinthians 3:17 that says in the NIV, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.” I realized I need to take care of Gods temple, why would I continue to knowingly abuse something that isn’t mine. Seriously, if you were unclean in the Old Testament and walked into the Holy if Holy’s, you dropped dead! Thank God for his Grace! Yes, I still love Chinese food, I’m still not perfect and have a way to go, but at least I have an exercise I really enjoy and feel so much better. I’ve also learned a lot about myself by pushing beyond what I thought were my limits, and gaining better self control.
I do want to be clear however and explain that physical exercise and diet are just a piece of the pie. For example 1 Timothy 4:8 says, “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” Living a life according to the principles of God is a life rewarding now and later. I however was disregarding the first part of physical exercise, and I believe that this is just another layer in striving to live a wholly Holy life.
All in all, I pray this encourages you to evaluate your temple. Do you need a little maintenance? A paint job will only cover so much, if you don’t deal with the rotting wood then the cracks will get worse and eventually crumble. Take care of your temple, and look outside the box. For me it was my diet and exercise that needed to change. For some of you it may be your thought process, lust, idolatry, anger, etc... whatever it is, make a decision to treat your body as a Holy and Sanctified being that deserves health, purity and love; this way you can serve God to your fullest capacity.
For years I’ve wondered what is the importance behind the in depth specifications and descriptions of God’s temple built by Solomon. And while I’m sure there are other deeper meanings, I realized that the attention to detail on the temple in 1 Kings 6 was due to the importance of the building being a host to God. The details had to be exceptional and exact, and even after it was built other rules had to be followed within the walls. It shouldn’t then come as a surprise that we see the following in 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;”
Many of us have heard or read this verse before but when you draw the comparison between the original Temple and the attention to detail it had, versus us being the Temple, there is an amazing parrallel. God wanted us to see the importance of his Temple in the Old Testament and under the old covenant to know how the Temple should be treated under the new covenant. Our bodies are designed for so much more than just work, play, eating, sleeping... we are designed to host the Holy Spirit. Why then would we allow it to not live up to the standards of the described temple in 1 Kings 6. Culture teaches us that our bodies are our own, but scripture teaches us that they are not our own. We are hosts to the Holy Spirit and should take care of what we have been entrusted to. Is this always easy? No. Is it always fun? No. But is it our responsibility? Yes.
Those of you who have known me for years know how much I love food. Chinese food is my favorite, and ice cream and fruit candies are my vices. For 30 years I lived without much thought for my health or body. Sure I always wished I was tone and looked great but I chocked it up to not having time to change and assuming it’s my body’s design. Friends would discuss their latest diets and exercises and I’d just kind of sit there and think, “yeah, that sounds miserable”. Then things started to finally catch up to me. Around college I started eating a lot more fast food due to cost and time (I know I’m not alone), and at that age it really wasn’t a big deal since for the most part, I was still rather athletic and active. The problem is that this habit of eating became a lifestyle for many years. My diet was to not biggie size my meal and only get the large. Then I would go home and sit down and watch tv or play video games. So my lifestyle really started to plummet. Sure I still had music and church activities, but that doesn’t do much in terms of healthy exercise activity. If anything this caused more of a strain on my food choices because I had less time and not much money for meals on the fly.
These habits, and my lack of exercise really caught up with me as I started having multiple health problems. I’ll spare you the in depth details, but basically my health was kind of starting to tail spin. My Liver and Pancreas levels were off and this led to tests and exams. My legs and back were constantly sore and some times causing so much pain I was having difficulty walking; and there were a couple other physical issues. Then I started having some mental issues like depression, frustration, and jealousy. I’m sure there are more if you ask my wife, but I kept trying to hide all these feelings. Then I felt the Lord telling me it’s time to stop my habits and update my lifestyle and get healthy. If I am trying to better my spiritual life, why wouldn’t I try and improve my physical and emotional life.
I figured all right, then let’s try and make this fun. So I bought a health tracker and started tracking my walking/running and all my food intake. Wow, painful, painful, painful. Running was causing a ton of pain because I was overweight and ramping up way too fast, so I switched to cycling. It’s now been around 14mo of cycling and drastically changing my eating to a much healthier lifestyle. I’ve since lost between 45-50lbs (it fluctuates), and feel much better physically and mentally.
Take a look at 1 Corinthians 3:17 that says in the NIV, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.” I realized I need to take care of Gods temple, why would I continue to knowingly abuse something that isn’t mine. Seriously, if you were unclean in the Old Testament and walked into the Holy if Holy’s, you dropped dead! Thank God for his Grace! Yes, I still love Chinese food, I’m still not perfect and have a way to go, but at least I have an exercise I really enjoy and feel so much better. I’ve also learned a lot about myself by pushing beyond what I thought were my limits, and gaining better self control.
I do want to be clear however and explain that physical exercise and diet are just a piece of the pie. For example 1 Timothy 4:8 says, “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” Living a life according to the principles of God is a life rewarding now and later. I however was disregarding the first part of physical exercise, and I believe that this is just another layer in striving to live a wholly Holy life.
All in all, I pray this encourages you to evaluate your temple. Do you need a little maintenance? A paint job will only cover so much, if you don’t deal with the rotting wood then the cracks will get worse and eventually crumble. Take care of your temple, and look outside the box. For me it was my diet and exercise that needed to change. For some of you it may be your thought process, lust, idolatry, anger, etc... whatever it is, make a decision to treat your body as a Holy and Sanctified being that deserves health, purity and love; this way you can serve God to your fullest capacity.
I love that "look outside the box". That is what you did. Excellent blog, motivational!
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