Satisfied and Healthy Living

By Mirely Maldonado

“Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ‘the two,’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh.’ But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”—1 Corinthians 6:13–17 (NKJV)

Have you ever heard anyone say, “What you put in is what comes out”? There are a lot of catchy sayings out there we repeat and live our lives believing, some of them true and some not true, but this one actually lines up with Scripture.

In Luke 6:43 (NKJV), Jesus shows this in an analogy: “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.” In verse 45, He further explains, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.”

In today’s Scripture, the apostle Paul talks about things we physically do to our bodies that lead to harm, destruction, and separation from God. Sometimes our fleshly bodies seem to have desires or cravings, but that doesn’t mean we need to satisfy them with whatever they want.

When it comes to food, if what we put in is not nutritious and nourishing, or if we eat too much or too little, then it can affect us in ways that are visible like weight loss or gain, hair loss, skin illnesses, etc. It can also affects us in nonvisible ways like diabetes, cancers, autoimmune diseases, or other illnesses. It can also affect our neurological system, which affects our thoughts, memory, feelings, and attitudes. We simply cannot expect to put junk in our bodies without being affected.

In a similar way, we see this in sexual immorality. When we have uncommitted sex, take in pornographic (or almost pornographic) images, or engage in other sexual acts that aren’t God’s design for us, it will cause destructive effects that will come out in one way or another—effects that aren’t visible like depression, never being satisfied or content, emptiness, selfishness, a distorted view of the way you see yourself and the people around you, and a change in you brain’s neuroplasticity. It can also cause visible consequences like sexually transmitted diseases and/or unexpected pregnancies.

As followers of Jesus, we’re members of His body. We wouldn’t want other parts of the body to do something that ultimately negatively affects the whole body, right? Well, this applies to us personally as well. We should want to honor God by taking care of our physical bodies while we have them, for as the Scripture indicates, they will eventually perish. Also, we are to honor the collective body and the head of the body, Jesus Christ our Lord.

True followers of Christ are known by their fruit. That’s why what we take in is so essential. The Bible prescribes everything we need for good and healthy living so we may bear good fruit.

Pause: Make a list of things you’re taking in that aren’t fruitful or nourishing.

Practice: Pray and ask God to reveal how to remove these things from your life, especially if they’ve been long-term habits. Also, ask Him to show you a way you can be held accountable so you won’t go back to these habits.

Pray: Father, in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, I come to You and ask for Your help in showing me what needs to be permanently removed from my life so I may bear and experience the good fruit that comes from being one with You in spirit. Amen.