5 Ways to Keep your Temple Holy
Fall has officially arrived here in Texas, and with the cooler temperatures, many people are eager to plan their holiday festivities. This is also the time of year when the workplace “water cooler chat” includes lament over the inevitable Halloween candy, rich desserts and savory party foods that will soon show up in break rooms and at potlucks.
I enjoy a good Thanksgiving gathering or Christmas party as much as the next person, but I hope to reach New Year’s Day without feeling regret over a season in which my flesh was king.
The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, intended to bring glory to the Father. Let’s look at five practical ways in which we can intentionally offer our bodies to the Lord as living sacrifices – not just during the upcoming holiday season, but year-round.
1. Remain disciplined in eating well, exercising and resting.
“But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:27
While it can be easy to de-prioritize healthy eating and exercise in the chaos of life, it is divinely intended that we take the time to give our body the proper nutrients, activity and rest it so integrally needs. So, take time to prepare well-balanced meals, commit yourself to a consistent exercise plan (even if it’s short and simple), and get your needed rest. And if you over-indulge on a holiday meal, reduce intake in the following meals to get back on track.
Avoid drunkenness and gluttony.
“Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters...for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.” Proverbs 23:20-21
This passage makes it clear that anyone who chooses drunkenness, gluttony and excess sleep will ruin themselves. If you’ve spent any season of your life idolizing alcohol, food or sleep—you probably know from personal experience that it generally kills productivity and self-growth, sprouts conflict with others, and ultimately leads to depression and anxiety. You will feel terrible, have no energy, be over-weight, and eventually have all kinds of medical problems.
2. Maintain a healthy mind.
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7
Today, we have a plethora of helpful resources at our fingertips when it comes to keeping our minds healthy and our focus on God: God’s Word, prayer, Christian podcasts, counseling and professional aid provide us with healthy and wholesome opportunities for maintaining a healthy mind and a growing relationship with the Lord. Let us not be too prideful or fearful to make it a priority to heal our minds and keep them healthy and growing spiritually.
3. Keep your body free from sexual sin.
“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” 1 Corinthians 6:18
We cannot expect to grow in the Lord if we do not cut sin out of our lives. In surrendering our bodies as a full and holy sacrifice to Christ, we must do so in all regards—especially in this way, as we read in this passage. Sexual sin—though it might be one of the most un-concerning sins in the eyes of the world—is extremely concerning to God. Why? For the sake of our own hearts regarding intimacy! Sex is the closest form of intimacy we have on this side of heaven, representative of our heavenly intimacy with God. This precious gift is absolutely meant to be kept holy and only with our spouse. Pornography is rampant in our culture, and is destroying people’s ability to have intimacy with their spouse in the way that God desires. He gave us the gift of sex, and designed it to bring intimacy between spouses. Pornography also creates a barrier to a growing and healthy relationship with the Lord by inhibiting the ability of the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.
4. Surrender your body as a living sacrifice for the glory of God.
“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
All in all, our bodies are holistic—one body made up of different parts that work cohesively together (mind, body and soul), one with God through the power of the Holy Spirit, and one with each other forming the Body of Christ. Because of this, we cannot give attention to one part and neglect other parts. This is not the way God intends for us to live. We must actively surrender every part of our bodies to Jesus in sacrificial worship and deny ourselves of those things that cause us to sin rather than bring Him glory. And then we must seek God’s will for what role He has designed us to carry out as a member of the Body of Christ. What does He want to accomplish in and through us if we will just make ourselves available to be His instrument to work in and through?
“Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.”
1 Corinthians 3:16-17