A note before I begin: this is not a ‘Time to Lose Weight’ post or make you ‘feel guilty’ post. This is MY realization, my temple, my revelation. This is not the easiest thing for me to talk about, but if it can help you, then I am blessed to share it.
An incredible realization that I just had was that in the old testament, the only place on earth that God’s Spirit was able to dwell was in the Ark of the Covenant. But now, because of Jesus, His Spirit is able to dwell inside of each believer!
That is HUGE!
I believe that we, as believers, take it for granted just how big that really is. I know I have. Personally, I have never truly realized the importance of that.
Furthermore, in the old testament, Gods Spirit was treated with great respect and reverence. An entire temple was built around it. A temple made of pure gold. There were precious stones used in the temple. Only the priests, who were worthy in God’s sight, was allowed to go into the Holy of Holies where His Spirit resided.
A Temple is a Terrible Thing to Waste
However, today, His Spirit resides within us, as a true believer.
And to look at my temple it is shameful. My body (temple) houses the Holy of Holies, God’s true Spirit and I treat it like crap.
This is not negative self-talk, as some would claim it to be, this is the truth.
Pure, unfiltered truth.
Even if I was a size 4, and was treating my body as I do now, it would still hold true.
I know that, for myself, I struggle with food addiction. I love food. And many times, unfortunately, food has been my vice. I eat when I am happy, sad, stressed, bored, whenever I can. I am not making good, healthy choices for my body either. No! It is food that is processed, fried, full of sugar, and ‘bad’ for me. Stuff that destroys my temple.
It is not that God does not want me to eat, of course, He does. He designed our bodies to need food. BUT…and it is a big but…He does not want food to be something that we put ahead of Him. Or something that we love more than Him.
Food is supposed to sustain our life. We should ‘eat to live’ and not ‘live to eat’, which, for many years, that is what I did. I lived to eat. (but that is another story for another time)
What does He Say About It?
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; glorify God, therefore, in your body. – 1 Corinthians 6:19
My body is His sanctuary. It does not even belong to me. It belongs to God to use and do with as He sees fit.
I have to take care of it as the priests took care of the temple in the Old Testament. I must get God’s purpose for my body so that I know what I must do in order to honor and glorify God with my body!
Can you imagine buying a mansion and then letting someone come in and completely tear up the place? Leaving trash around, breaking things, or destroying it?
My (and your) body is like a mansion or a temple. God put great care into building it and making all of the parts work together. When I eat junk food, and food that is not ‘good’ for me, it is like I am trashing the place. I am throwing junk in there that does not belong and has no use for my life.
A Pure Temple
“Gods spirit no longer resides in temples made of hands but in our bodies through the blood of Jesus by the way of the Holy Spirit. As a living temple of the living God, we dance in the Spirit. You don’t have to have music to dance in the Spirit. You also don’t need to have people present to watch you dance because your dancing is not a production for man’s eyes, but an expression of your heart towards God”
– Kenneth Hagin
I should not do things in the flesh (dance, sing, speak in tongues), which is like brass to God but instead, do them in the Spirit which is like pure gold to Him. Even though brass looks like gold, it’s not. God doesn’t want brass(shiny on the outside, but dull on the inside), He wants gold – pure, precious metal inside and out.
Just as I should not do things in the flesh, I should not eat things in the flesh, as so to speak. What I choose to put inside my body should be things that help to build me up, not tear me down and make me sluggish or unhealthy.
I want God’s best and the FULL MEASURE of His blessings to come on me and my life.
My Prayer
Father, Help me to only, bring you pure gold and never brass. Help me to worship You only in spirit and not of the flesh. Help me to make better choices of what I put inside of my temple. Show me the truth on the choices that I make and help me never to put food or anything else above You! Give me the strength and wisdom that I need in order to make the best decisions for my temple and my life.
In Jesus name, I receive -Amen