Your Body is Sacred

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred and you are that temple.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

To really change my behavior permanently, rather than just deciding to do a diet for a set time period, I had to change my perception of obesity. Now, to give you a background on me, when my husband first went to one of my extended family reunions he said "WOW! You have a large family! And I don't mean in just numbers..."

Being overweight always seemed somewhat normal to me. But, I'm realizing now that obesity is actually a sin. Don't get me wrong - I'm not pointing the finger at anyone but myself. I have been overweight 90% of my life! When I read the above scripture verses, though, I realized my physical body is the temple where God's Holy Spirit lives. By overeating and giving into the laziness that seems to come so naturally to me, I'm destroying the very place where God desires to dwell.

It was a humbling conclusion to come to when I realized that I was wearing my sin where everyone could see it. But, humility is a great place to start when you're desiring a major life change! As the Bible says in 1 Peter 5:5, "God gives grace to the humble." And, if you're on the same bumpy road that I am in the weight loss process - where ups and downs are part of life as you iron out a good 'routine' - then you'll need a lot of that grace!

Dear Lord, it blows my mind that the Creator of the Universe would want to have His Spirit dwell within my temple. Please help me treat my body like the holy temple you've called it to be. Remind me, Holy Spirit, when I go to make a poor choice that You desire a better life for me. Thank you, Father God, for your unending grace in this process. Please keep us humble and walking with You. In Jesus' name, AMEN!