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
There are some questions you may worry about that God probably won’t ever ask you.
Erika is a blogger who writes about mental and physical health. In her blog, she says: “Our bodies are temples of the living God, so let’s treat them that way.”[1] She’s referencing Scripture that says, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
What does honoring God in our bodies look like? Is it going vegetarian or taking vitamins? Not necessarily. Erika says, it’s not about the answer to questions like these: What size of jeans do you wear? Did you give in to that craving last night? Or, what does your family think of your body? In all cultures, we have ideas about what our bodies should look like. But God isn’t very interested in our outsides. He says, “Don’t judge by … appearance or height … The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
Our hearts—our innermost selves, reside in our bodies, but they aren’t nourished through our mouths. God is the nourisher and the restorer of hearts. He says, “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you (Ezekiel 36:26). When we get sidetracked and focused just on our outsides, we can pray: “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10a). We honor God when we view our bodies as His home.
[1] Pizzo, Erika [yourtemplecare]. “Four Things God Probably Won’t Ask You When You Get to Heaven,” Instagram, September 15, 2022, Instagram.com/yourtemplecare/.
