Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God brought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. I Corinthians 6:19-20

 

Does God care what He sees when you stand in front of a mirror?

 

Your body matters to God. But God’s perspective is a very different than the one portrayed by mirror selfies on social media.

There was once a man who was run-down and exhausted. The Bible tells that he was fast asleep when God had an angel deliver food to him. The angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat!” and then, “Eat some more!” (I Kings 19:1-9) Before God talked with this man named Elijah, He took care of Elijah’s body. One spiritual director points out, “…Elijah’s story demonstrates, there is a real connection between care for the body and our ability to continue deepening our relationship with God and to faithfully carry out God’s purposes for our life over the long haul.”[1]

If you follow Jesus, your body is a temporary tent, loaned to you by God for your short time on earth. Scripture says, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God brought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (I Corinthians 6:19-20).

What does honoring God with the body look like? It doesn’t mean sitting our fatigued, unhealthy, stressed-out bodies down to read our Bibles. Our bodies are places that God can be known, experienced and enjoyed! We glorify God in our appreciation of our bodies’ ability to heal and legs that stretch out on a walk. We glorify Him when we enjoy warm sunshine and cool refreshing waters. He’s glorified by loving sexual pleasure with a spouse.

Have you considered honoring God by caring for and enjoying your body?

[1] Barton, Ruth Haley. “Flesh-and-Blood Spirituality: Honoring the Body as a Spiritual Practice.” Transforming Center, 9 Aug. 2023, transformingcenter.org/2011/05/flesh-and-blood-spirituality-honoring-the-body-as-a-spiritual-practice/.