Honoring the Body as a Temple

by Lisa Vaught

I know Spotify, Apple Music, and many other apps provide great music playlists. However, is there anyone else out there who enjoys listening to their favorite music through YouTube, or am I showing my age here? I do not pay to have ad-free YouTube, but those ads really annoy me.

With all the AI capabilities of our smart technology, ads are very targeted to the culture around us and to us as individuals because AI knows what we have researched and, if your microphone is on, what we have been talking about to others. Ads of late have, at times, felt like personal attacks on my physical appearance: wrinkle cream ads, weight loss ads, healthy gut ads, and more.

Talking about our physical bodies is a risky subject for us to discuss as a church. Hollywood productions and the social media realms have done quite a negative number on us over the years with unrealistic expectations. What an effective tactic Satan has used to make us feel “less than” - stealing our joy in being God’s magnificent creations that He made us to be.

Even though talking about our physical bodies can be a sensitive subject, the church cannot shy away from the topic because the Bible itself speaks about the body throughout both the Old and New Testaments. One specific verse has always stuck out to me: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit?” - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

Think about it! The skin-covered mass that we reside in contains over 650 muscles, 206 bones, 3 trillion cells, 45 miles worth of nerves, and 60,000 miles of blood vessels, not to mention the respiratory, digestive, and reproductive systems. More importantly, though, our body is the residence of a much more important person than our own selves. It is the holy location of residence for the Holy Spirit of God once we accept Christ as our Savior. Our body is the temple where God’s Spirit dwells, so how we care for that body is vital.

Deep Connection of Body, Soul, and Spirit

The truth: there is a deep connection between our physical bodies and both our emotional and spiritual health. The Apostle Paul used the following words as part of his conclusion in a letter of instructions to the Church of Thessalonica:

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Notice Paul considered the whole of a person to be spirit, soul and body; he wished for the people to be whole by keeping sound and blameless in all three areas – including the physical body. When bodies work in the best possible manner, we find that the spirit and soul are much more able to have peace when serving Christ. When the spirit, soul, and body work in rhythm with one another, we can accomplish more for the Kingdom in the individual purposes Christ lays out before us to fulfill.

So, where does that leave us when it comes to making sure our bodies are healthy? Do we simply make sure we eat healthily and exercise? Does it include getting regular check-ups from our doctors and taking our vitamins? Does it mean we should abstain from behaviors that are harmful to our bodies? I dare say, “Yes!” to all the above, even if there is not a direct commandment in the Bible stating, “Thou shalt always eat your vegetables and work out 30 minutes or more a day, making regular trips to the doctor for the benefit of your health.”

In case you haven’t noticed, our bodies are not all the same. How to keep our bodies healthy is just about as individualized as our unique DNA strands are. Why? According to Health.com, there are three main body types determined by body fat levels, bone and muscle structure, height, and slenderness. People have different genetic backgrounds and metabolic rates that drive not only what our bodies look like, but how they function in life. So, everyone’s detailed plan for being healthy is slightly different. Trust me, the healthy living plan for my five-foot self with a slower metabolism is not the same as my husband’s six-foot, three-inch high metabolic self.

However, there are three vital questions that everyone should consider when it comes to keeping our bodies healthy:

#1 – What am I putting inside my body?

Healthy eating is important. Personally, I loved all the peanut butter candy, chocolate-covered pretzels, and Mom’s red velvet cake I enjoyed at Christmas—oh, and I can’t forget the delicious dumplings! However, our bodies pay the price when we don’t have a well-balanced diet and limit the occasional sweet treat to rare occasions in moderation.

It isn’t about just focusing on our weight. It is about how we feel! Side effects of unhealthy eating can include digestive issues, swelling of joints, brain fog or focus issues, spiked sugar levels that drop fast, causing all kinds of problems, and so much more.

Truthfully, the healthier we eat, the better we feel physically, and the more activity we can do mentally and physically for the Lord. Therefore, choosing what we eat becomes a spiritual choice.

Furthermore, adding chemicals into our bodies that do not really belong can cause great havoc on the Holy Spirit’s temple. Please understand me here - I am not saying avoid medications that doctors have prescribed for both your physical health and mental health. However, we need to make sure we get wise counsel from trained professionals who want to get to the root of your problem and not just prescribe medicine for the symptoms. Why? Because altered minds result in a lack of productivity in all areas of our lives: physical labor, relational situations, and spiritual connections. Altered body chemistry causes diseases, damage, and sometimes death. God made us for so much more than a drug or a drink can provide.

#2 - How am I treating my body?

Are you giving your body the amount of activity and rest that it needs? Our bodies need both activity and rest to be healthy. Without exercising our muscles, they become weak and rigid. Without getting rest, our bodies wear down. A healthy balance of activity and rest can help us be the best temples we can be for the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, most of us do not have a healthy balance of the two.

Exercise has many more benefits than the weight control that my YouTube ads seem to be encouraging me to need. Exercise actually helps people combat some health conditions and diseases—preventing strokes, lowering high blood pressure, controlling type 2 diabetes, decreasing depression and anxiety, and more. Exercise can also help improve cognitive function, boost energy, and, when done with family or friends, can help your social life.

Rest is important for our bodies. Sabbath rest, where we completely rest from our labor and focus on the Lord, is vital to our spiritual health and well-being. Our busy work culture in America makes finding Sabbath time difficult for some; however, remember that it was important enough that God, Himself, took a day of rest as our example.

Daily rest with a good night’s sleep is also very important for us. Mayo Clinic suggests adults get about 7 hours of sleep, while the number increases for the younger generations. However, Harvard Health says quality is more important than quantity of hours.

Do you struggle to sleep well? The exercise we discussed above promotes sleep, which can give us the rest we need to give our bodies. Regular exercise can help us fall asleep faster, get better sleep, and deepen our sleep, as long as it is not done right before bedtime, which can cause the opposite effect.

#3 – How am I honoring my body as the temple?

The 1 Corinthians scripture that tells us we are the temple of the Holy Spirit is embedded within instructions on using our body in moral fashions. According to the scripture, our temples are defiled when we have sexual activity outside of God’s boundaries; however, we actually honor our bodies as the temple when that activity is done between a man and a woman in a marriage covenant relationship as God intended.

Another way to honor our bodies as the temple is to use our physical bodies in worship. We can give thanksgiving by extending our hands toward heaven. We can revere our God by kneeling in prayer. We can lay prostrate before the Lord in surrender. Lifting our head singing unto the Lord or bowing it low in reverence honors our God. Clapping or waving our hands is a great form of praise. Playing musical instruments or lifting our voices in adoration honors Him. And may we never forget that serving others in any way is an act of worship to our mighty Creator.

Daily Decisions Make the Difference

It is my prayer that we each make daily decisions that honor our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is a privilege to be part of God’s Kingdom, and we can serve best when our bodies are as healthy as they can be. Then, the joy of the Lord will be our strength!