“Each day provides a multitude of ways to improve the way we shelter the Holy Spirit of God.” – Gary Thomas

There are times when we seem to have a love-hate relationship with our bodies. As Christians, we know that our bodies belong to God, that the Holy Spirit lives within us, and that we have a responsibility to take care of the body we have, whatever its present condition may be. Much about our bodies is outside of our control. But we do have something to say about how we eat, exercise, and rest.

Paul actually refers (not favorably!) to people whose “god is their belly” (from Philippians 3:19). I think we could safely interpret it to mean that it’s possible to let our bodies have too much to say about how we live. Sometimes it is our baser instincts that rule our decisions.

But we don’t have to follow the demands our body makes for satisfaction, pleasure, or foods. We have to give it what it needs, but not everything it wants! When we make God our first priority, our one and only God, we are less likely to make our appetites, our comfort, or our happiness into “gods”.

If we’re serious about having God rule our bodies, what do we do? We learn to feed them well, to get exercise to keep our muscles strong, and to find the right balance between work and rest and between feasting and fasting. We can use our bodies to turn us toward God, not away from him, as we learn to care for these temples in ways that please him.

 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship“- Romans 12:1