Most of the physical ailments that I have today I attribute to mistreatment I gave my body earlier. For instance, I grew up in Southern California and spent a lot of time at the beach or just outside. Unfortunately, in those days we didn’t use sunscreen very much because we didn’t understand the damage that the sun could do to our skin. So in recent years I have undergone numerous procedures to remove skin cancer. I also played catcher in baseball and softball for decades. As a result I have back and neck problems today. Then there is the poor nutrition that I have maintained most of my life and its impact upon my heart and digestive system.
Most of us can look back and see poor or uninformed decisions that we made that still impact us today. This truth is partially what the apostle Paul is warning us about in I Corinthians 3:16-17 when he wrote, “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.” God has given each of us a body. With our bodies God has given us responsibility to take good care of our bodies.
God has also given us each a heart, mind, soul and spirit. He expects each person to also take good care of these aspects of life as well. He designed us to reflect His glory. We can only demonstrate God’s glory by first believing in Him and His salvation. Only then will the Holy Spirit come to reside in us and give us power to show forth the glory of God. Allowing God to transform us by the power of God’s Spirit is what being God’s temple is all about. The Spirit’s transforming power is the best way to demonstrate God’s glory, taking good care of God’s temple.
Reluctant Retiree 