Honoring God with Our Bodies
Paul's focus here is on sexual immorality. We ARE becoming more & more lax in our standards of what is & isn't appropriate to do & to display sexually. 'Dancing w/ the Stars' comes to mind. This is considered a family show & airs during prime family-viewing hours. Yet some of the dancers are very scantily clad & dance very provocatively, & some of the language is laced w/ innuendo & sexual references. I admit I like this show. But I have to wonder if my 'endorsement' is also contributing to a decline of sexually moral standards.
There are a few dangers though in Paul's words. He says 'flee from sexual immorality.' Let us not use this as license to shun some demographic of the lost that needs to hear the Gospel. We must be willing to share the Gospel & to welcome anyone that God is drawing to Himself.
Let us also not use these words to become arrogant or to deceive ourselves as Christians. While we may not engage in some behavior that is as blatantly sexually immoral as others, that does not mean that Christians are sinless in this regard. Perhaps we're just more secretive. Do we really think every young couple is refraining from sexual activity before marriage? And what of those that are grown & divorced? Do we think that since 'the horse is already out of the barn' that the same standard of saving sex for marriage doesn't apply to us? Nor are Christians impervious to the temptations of porn & homosexuality.
But one of the biggest dangers of Paul's words is that we can easily overlook other ways in which we dishonor God w/ our bodies. Eating nutritionally deficient or even destructive foods, being too sedentary, overeating, feeding our brains & souls w/ 'nutritionally deficient' or 'destructive' stuff w/ what we watch on TV or in the movies or listen to on the radio - surely these are some ways in which we dishonor Him w/ our bodies as well!
God, thank You for this reminder that our bodies are a holy place, & that we are privileged to be a temple for Your Holy Spirit. Help us to be mindful of this continually so that we can honor You in all ways & w/ all activity w/ these bodies that You gave us. Amen.
Created about 1 year ago
