“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
This is a message specifically for Christians (all Christians), because it’s built on truths which only apply to followers of Jesus! If Jesus is your Lord, then the Holy Spirit lives within you, which makes you a temple. A temple is the place where God dwells and He dwells within each believer! Our bodies are holy ground! What we put into them and what we do with them we are doing to and with God’s holy temple!
This should give us pause. As Christians, our eternal life and freedom from sin and death were bought with the precious blood and broken body of Jesus Christ. Because of what He did for us on the cross, we who believe in Him are united with Him through His death and resurrection. We are one with Him and He is one with us. This is a glorious truth, but it’s one with profound implications! We must continually seek to glorify God with our bodies.
We must reject sinful behaviors that don’t bring glory to God through the use of our bodies. Rather than rationalize sin away by asking who we’re affecting, we must live in light of the knowledge that we affect God in us. We must reject sinful behaviors that don’t treat our bodies as holy temples of God’s Holy Spirit. We must live each day with a greater awareness of Christ’s Lordship over our bodies and lives and His desire to bring glory to God through them.
This isn’t a negative thing at all. This isn’t a burden. This isn’t about eliminating fun. This isn’t really about what we can’t do – it’s about what we can do, because of Christ in us!