Take Care of Your Body

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Good morning Chapel family. We are starting out the new year with a series called “Getting the Right Things Right.” Because the reality is, you cannot do it all. So let me take some pressure off of you: this year, you cannot renovate your house like Chip and Joanna Gaines, and cook meals like the people on Food Network, and dress your kids like the moms on Pinterest, and keep a perfect lawn like the guy on the Scott’s Turf Builder commercial, right? And have a great career, and volunteer at your kid’s school, and serve at your church. You can’t do all those things. You will run out of time. Which means: you have to choose. Or, let me say it better: we get to choose. Isn’t that a privilege? We get to choose what things to say “No” to, and what things to say “Yes” to.

And that’s what this series is about: choosing to pay attention to the right things. So from the teachings of Scripture, four of the right things for all of us are your spiritual life, your relational life, your physical life, and your financial life. If you get those things right—and by the way, no one can get those things perfect; but you can intentionally prioritize those things—you will be living a wise life, and you’ll be honoring the God who created you.

So two weeks ago we talked about spending time with God; last week we talked about sharing life with people. You have to get those two things right. Today we come to the third thing: Take Care of Your Body. Take care of your body.

The Global Wellness Institute recently published a report, where they analyzed how much money is spent by different countries on exercise-related things. You know what country is on top of that list? You guessed it—the U.S. spends over 246 billion dollars a year on things like fitness classes and athletic footwear and exercise technology. No other country came close. But here’s the troubling part: when it comes to actually doing physical activity, we rank 143rd in the world. Ouch. In other words, we like to talk about exercise and plan for it and we love dressing for it; we’re not that great at actually doing it. 143rd in the world!

So what does all this have to do with faith? I mean, if you’re a serious follower of Christ, does that mean you should be exercising more and eating healthier than all your friends, or does it mean you shouldn’t be caught up in all that, because you’re concerned with more spiritual things? How should our faith affect the way you treat our bodies? That’s what I want to talk about today.

Our main Scripture reading is found in 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19 and 20. I invite you now to hear the Word of God…

19 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; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. This is the Word of the Lord.

As I have studied what the Bible teaches on this topic, I think we can summarize it like this. Are you ready? This is the big idea for today: Take care of your body, but don’t worship it. Take care of your body, but don’t worship it. So let’s talk about those two ideas, in reverse order.

First, Don’t Worship Your Body. That sounds crazy, right? Who would worship their body? Well, we live in a culture that makes a really big deal out of physical beauty. I mean, that’s always been true, but social media has amplified that tendency. You’ve probably seen some of the recent reports about

how Facebook, which owns Instagram, has acknowledged how harmful social media is for the body image of young girls. Because they’re always comparing. But it’s not just young girls. We are all bombarded by ideal images of beauty, all the time. So it’s easy to start thinking that’s what really matters, and to make it a major focus of life. So the temptation is to be fixated on your physical body. And the Bible gives us some strong reasons not to do that. Here are three reasons to not worship your body…

First, Our bodies are decaying. Look at 2 Corinthians 4, verse 16: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. Outwardly we are wasting away. This physical body that I walk around in hit its peak when I was around 18 years old. I remember it well! I ran the Jersey Shore Marathon; I had a 30-inch waist; I ran cross country for Virginia Tech; I could do lots of push-ups. I felt like Superman. I was at my physical peak! Ever since that time, I have been going downhill. That’s the reality. Many times, I have tried to deny that reality, and usually I wind up at the physical therapist. Some of you are actively denying that reality right now. You’re going, “Nope—not me.”

About four years ago, I made a hard decision. I finally quit running. Ever since college, my life had been a cycle of training hard, competing in races, getting injured, trying to recover, and then starting the cycle all over again. Over time, I was spending more time injured than actually healthy. So four years ago I finally got the message, and stopped running. And I know this sounds dramatic, but it was really hard to admit I should give up this thing I loved. It was painful to accept the reality that these joints of mine just can’t handle it anymore, because outwardly, physically, I am wasting away. Thankfully, I have now embraced my new reality, and I truly love hiking and cycling and other things I do! But it’s something I should have realized about ten years earlier—I was just too stubborn.

I know this looks different depending on what age you are. But have you accepted the reality that your body is in the process of wearing out? Because if not, you’ll miss the good news of the other half of that verse: as you’re going downhill outwardly, God is doing something powerful inside you. “Inwardly we’re being renewed.” God is maturing you and strengthening you. If you let him. But if you’re too stubborn, like I was, and you want to hang on to your 18-year-old self, you’ll stay immature and undeveloped in your spirit.

So the first reason you shouldn’t worship your body is that it’s in the process of wasting away. Don’t get too carried away polishing the brass on a sinking ship. Right?

Second thing: Beauty is deceptive. The book of Proverbs is all about wise living. So let’s look at two things Proverbs says about this. First, Proverbs 31:30…

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Proverbs 31 is talking about a virtuous woman. And one of the things that makes her a person of such character is that she’s focused on the things that last. And the point here is that outward beauty and charm don’t last. They’re fleeting. And that’s deceiving—because you can look at a beautiful person, and you think, “That person is everything I’ll ever need!” But that outer beauty wears off over time, and the inner stuff is what lasts.

Very similar to the message of Proverbs 11:22—listen to this…

Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.

Picture this: you’re walking along, and you see something shiny on the ground—buried in the mud. So you scrape away the mud, and sure enough, it’s a beautiful gold ring. So you try to pick it up…and all of a sudden you hear this squeal! And you go, “Whoa—this ring has a pig attached to it!” And suddenly, it’s not so attractive anymore. And the Proverb says: that’s what it’s like when you meet a beautiful woman who has no discretion. At first, you’re so attracted to her, and you grab on. But as you get to know her, you realize you’ve got a pig on your hands! There’s not much substance beneath the beauty! You ever experience that, guys? And it goes both ways—it’s not just a female thing! As you get to know a person, their outward beauty means less and less, and their inner qualities mean more and more.

So here’s the point: if you obsess over your own physical body—if you spend your free time at the gym and the tanning salon and the hair salon and the nail salon and the clothing store—if so much of your energy is devoted to your looks—you’re being deceived. And by the way, as you grow older, that focus on your appearance will look more and more ridiculous. That’s the second reason not to worship your body.

Here’s the third one: Good looks at the heart. Early in Israel’s history, God was about to appoint the next king. So he sent the prophet Samuel to the home of a man named Jesse, and he told the prophet, One of Jesse’s sons will be next king.” So Samuel got to Jesse’s house, and Jesse brought out his firstborn son, Eliab. The guy was a physical specimen—tall, muscular, handsome—he just looked like king material. And Samuel the prophet immediately said, “Surely this is the one.” And here is God’s response—this is 1 Samuel 16:7 (you should memorize this)…But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” God doesn’t look at the same thing people look at! When God is assessing and evaluating and sizing people up, he doesn’t have the same criteria we do. We tend to be all about the exterior, but God knows that the way a person appears outwardly is not necessarily a good predictor of that person’s true value. He looks at the heart.

Which means, if we want to be like God—if we want to be godly people—we’ll start learning to look at others, and at ourselves, in the same way. We talked earlier about the body image of young girls, and how fragile that can be. But this can be an issue for anyone, of any gender, at any age. Have you ever looked in the mirror, and thought, “I hate my body”? And you walk away, not just dissatisfied with your body, but disgusted with yourself as a person? God wants to free you from that. God wants to free you from equating your worth with the shape of your body. It is so freeing when we begin to look at things the way God does. And it’s a hard switch to make—because the influence of culture is so strong. But God is stronger.

So for all those reasons—our bodies are decaying, beauty is deceptive, and God looks at the heart—don’t fall into the trap of worshiping your body. You will waste so much time and so much mental energy, and you will regret it. Don’t worship your body!

Now: if all that’s true, you could come to the conclusion that our bodies just don’t matter. Right? So just do whatever you want—God doesn’t care! In fact, back in the first Century, that was a really popular view. It was called “dualism.” Dualism taught that life is divided into two realms: there’s the spiritual stuff, that God cares about, and the physical stuff, that God doesn’t care about—and therefore, do whatever you want with your body! God doesn’t care! And then along came Christianity with a different view of this (pinch skin). They said, “Actually, we are integrated beings: spiritual and physical. And God cares about all of it.”

And that leads to the second part of our big idea. Don’t worship your body, BUT—do…Take Care of your Body. Let me give you three reason you should take care of your body.

First, God cares. God cares about your body! And this was our main Scripture reading today. Look at 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19 and 20: 19 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; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

You are not your own; you were bought at a price. This is a slavery metaphor. If you were living during the first century, and you saw a slave suffering under a cruel master, and you wanted to free that slave, you could! But it would cost you. You would have to pay a sum of money to the master. And the master would say, “I no longer own this slave.” So the Bible says all of us were enslaved by our sin, and Jesus paid a price to redeem us, or free us. You know what the price was? His blood, spilled on the cross. So when Paul says “you were bought at a price,” that’s what he means—Jesus paid for our freedom with his own blood.

And therefore—verse 19—you are not your own. This body that I feed and dress and walk around with…I don’t really own it. And that’s a very counterintuitive thought, but when I embrace that, it changes the way I treat my body.

I currently drive a Honda CRV, and I am leasing it from Honda. Honda owns it; I’m just using it. So I know that I scratch it; if I ding it; if I spill too much coffee in it; one day, I’m going to stand before somebody at the Honda Dealership, and I’m going to answer for the way I’ve treated their car. Right? Whole different deal from owning it. And God says, “Your body is actually mine. I redeemed you at the cross—you’re just leasing that body. So treat it with honor.”

If you knew that, if you believed that, would it change what you eat this afternoon? Would it change your motivation for going to the gym tomorrow morning? It might.

But it goes deeper than God just owning your body. Your body is actually God’s temple. Any time the Bible uses the word “temple,” it’s talking about the place where God’s presence dwells. Isn’t that an amazing thought?

Do you remember the first time in the Gospels where Jesus gets mad? It’s when he comes into the temple in Jerusalem. And it’s chaos. He sees money-changers who are making a big profit off the worshipers; he sees animal merchants charging ridiculous prices for sacrificial animals. And Jesus is filled with indignation, and he flips over tables, and he chases everyone out. Why? Because they were misusing the temple of God. This sacred place where God’s presence dwelled was being mistreated…and it made Jesus angry!

So what am I saying? Well, today, there is no more temple in Jerusalem. God says, “Now, the temple is you!” God’s presence lives in you! And when God’s temple is abused, Jesus doesn’t like it.

So picture this scene: you’re at a buffet. And you’ve eaten a big plate full of food already, and you’re full. But buffets have this strange, hypnotic power on us—don’t they? Because they’re unlimited. Nobody will stop you if you fill up again! So you walk up for a second round.

And right then, you’re going to hear the voice of Jesus, saying, “Don’t make me get angry.” And his voice will be loving and kind—because he is Jesus! But it’ll also be a little scary. And you’ll sense a little fire in his eyes. And he’s going to say, “You’re about to abuse God’s temple. You’re about to overload your stomach and crank up your blood pressure and make yourself more out of shape. Don’t do it.

Treat it with dignity and respect. I want you to just put down the plate, and nobody will get hurt. And just go back and sip your drink, and enjoy the people at your table.”

And if you obey that voice, and if you make that a habit—consistently stopping when you’ve eaten enough—you will be respecting this sacred space where God’s presence dwells. We are temples of God. So God cares about your body!

Here’s the second reason: Freedom calls. Look at 1 Corinthians 6:12… “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. There are certain things you are technically allowed to do, but those things have a tendency to master us. To become addictive. So you might think you’re free to do that, but it’s going to end up taking away the very freedom you’re celebrating.

I’m going to be very honest: it feels great to sit in front of the TV and eat junk food. And when I choose to do that, it feels like freedom. Because I chose it! But God says, “Look deeper. You are being mastered by your impulses.” So, as I sit there and cheer for my team and work on that half-gallon of ice cream, it’s forming chains on me. And over time, as I get more and more out of shape and those habits get more deeply ingrained, it’s harder and harder to break out of those chains. Been there, anybody?

On the other hand: if I resist my craving to stay on the couch, and I go down to my basement and get on the treadmill or the bike, or pick up some weights—that action leads to freedom. Because I have more energy; I feel better; I have more energy and passion to live life. It’s very paradoxical, right? Choosing to limit my freedom—because I’m free to eat ice cream and watch lots of TV—but choosing to limit that freedom actually opens up a life of much more freedom.

If you wonder why The Chapel sponsors a 5k run every spring, this is it. Because we don’t just want to teach the concept that our bodies matter to God; we want to offer concrete ways to help people break the habits that enslave them, and develop new habits that help them live in freedom.

Aren’t you tired of being a slave? Not being able to say “no” to food, or alcohol, or cigarettes, or laziness? God wants to free you from that.

Here’s one more reason: Service awaits. Whenever you talk about freedom, you’re always free from something, right? You’re no longer a slave to that thing. But you’re also free for something. Look at Romans 12:1…Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer (what does it say?) your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Offer your body to be used by God. What a privilege! So by taking care of your body, you’ll be more available—more ready—to serve God. To live the life God has called you to. Let me give you two quick examples.

Robert Murray McCheyne was a Scottish preacher back in the 1800s. He worked so hard, and neglected his body so much, that he died at age 29. Right before he died, he realized how foolish he had been, and he wrote these words: “God gave me a message to deliver and a horse to ride. Alas, I have killed the horse and now I cannot deliver the message.” And of course, the horse he was talking about was his body. He could no longer carry out his ministry, because he didn’t care for his body.

And then one of my favorites: Jim Elliot was a missionary to a remote tribe in Ecuador in the 1950s. But before that, he was a college wrestler. And here’s what he said about his wrestling: “I wrestle solely for the strength and coordination of muscle tone that the body receives while working out, with the ultimate end of presenting a more useful body as a living sacrifice.” Man, what an awesome perspective.

This past week I heard of two more guys in their 40s who just dropped dead of a heart attack. What a tragedy, right? And it’s sad to think of all they didn’t get to do, because their lives were cut short. So whatever God has called you do to—whatever people he’s called you to love—whatever ministry he’s put before you—you will be able to do that better and longer if your body’s in good shape. It’s as simple as that.

So our culture says you should take care of our body so you’ll look better and feel better. God gives us much more compelling reasons: Because God cares about your body, because freedom calls, and because service awaits. But let me ask the most practical question: how do we do this? I mean, is it just will power? You can find the will power, possibly. But study after study has shown that will power doesn’t usually last long. If we’re really going to take care of our bodies over the long haul, we need something deeper. And I think that something deeper is that we need to move from will-power to worship.

In Jeremiah chapter two, God is confronting His people for their idol worship. And look what he says—this is Jeremiah 2:13… “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” So here’s the picture: God says, “If you worship me and serve me only, I will satisfy your soul like a cold, bubbling fountain of water. I will quench the deepest thirsts of your heart.” But He says, “Instead, my people have forsaken me. They’re worshiping other gods. So instead of drinking from this fresh spring, it’s like they’re drinking from a cistern.” You know what a cistern is? It’s not even a real well—it’s a hole in the ground that collects rainwater. It’s muddy and nasty, and it’s a terrible place to get a drink.

So God says, “When you worship and serve anything but me, you are abandoning the fresh spring and choosing a muddy hole. You think that idol can fill you…but you’re drinking mud.”

So—tonight—when you’re tempted to load up a huge bowl of ice cream and sit down to watch TV, you’re going to say, “Wait a minute. This is like drinking from a mud puddle. This is not going to satisfy me.” And you’re going to go out for a 45-minute walk around the neighborhood. And listen: that will be an act of worship. Because by choosing the walk over the ice cream, you’re saying, “God, I want to honor you with my body, and I trust that you will fill me and satisfy me more than any food could.” That’s worship! It’s taking God at his Word; it’s turning from a substitute god and turning toward the true God, and God will honor that act of obedience.

So…as a worshiper of God, what would it mean for you to take care of your body?

Maybe it means you get a membership at a gym, and work it into your morning routine. Once you get over the initial tiredness, you will be amazed how much better you feel for the rest of the day.

Maybe it means you get a good treadmill or spin bike for your house—I’ve got both in my basement, along with a basic set of dumbbells, and it’s that’s made a huge difference for me.

Maybe it means you make a weekly stop at Circle 3 Farms or your local farm market, and you load up on fresh produce, so when you open the fridge at night, you have all kinds of good options.

What would it mean for you to take care of your body?

Some of you are dishonoring the body God gave you, and it’s time to make some changes. Not because you’re obsessed with your health, and you want to look better than everyone else! But because you want to honor God and serve him for as long as you can.