Do What Is Healthy And Helpful

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Yesterday, we talked about doing what is holy with our body. Today, I want us to look at two other things we need to be doing when it comes to taking care of the temple God has entrusted each of us with.

First, we should do what is healthy for our body. Your body was created for one purpose - to glorify God. Wherever you take it, however you treat it, whatever you do with it, should always be to glorify God. That means your eating habits, your activity level, your rest – all of those things should be used to glorify God and to take care of the temple He has given you.

Health is important. Taking care of your body is important to God, but it is not just so that we will live longer, but so we will live better, so we can give God our very best thinking, our highest energy, and our longest service.

Secondly, we should do what is helpful for our body. You know one of the most helpful things you can do for your body is both to be thankful for the body that you have and to keep your body always thankful. I read something that absolutely amazed me, but it didn’t surprise me. Medical researchers are discovering that gratitude is the one emotional trait most likely to benefit physical health and to quicken recovery from a serious illness. Grateful people tend to be happier, most satisfied with their lives, and actually live longer.

As a follower of Jesus, we should be grateful every day not only that God has given us a body, but that Jesus gave His body for our body, our soul, and our spirit. He died on a cross and was raised from the dead so that He could send His Holy Spirit to live in my body and to make it a holy, healthy, and happy temple. Jesus cares about us in every way—spiritually, emotionally, and physically. And that is something to be grateful for!

So let’s make the choice to do what is healthy and helpful for our body. Let’s make healthy choices in how we care for our temple. And let’s choose to be grateful for the body we’ve been given, and for the body that was given for us, so that we can live in obedience to God and glorify Him as a result.

Dear Father, I want to be able to serve you as long as I can and give you my very best. And I realize that in order to do that, I need to do what is healthy and helpful for my body. Please give me wisdom and discipline to make good decisions for my body so that I can honor you with this temple and serve you with it for as long as possible. Lord, I’m so grateful for you, for your sacrifice, and for the gift that my body is so that I can be a vessel for you. In Jesus’ name, amen.