How to Honor God with Your Body
To honor God with your body takes work. You groom, clean, dress, feed, rest, and exercise it. Our bodies demand attention. They don’t have built-in smokestacks or alcohol filters (that should tell us something).
We get one body so taking care of it is a priority to live for decades. Honoring God with your body is more than keeping it healthy and looking good. For a Christian, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit where He lives.
I Corinthians 6:19-20: 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.
What happens inside you on a daily basis reflects how you and I view God. Hold God in high esteem and you’ll also value your body. How do you honor God with your body?
You Honor God with Your Body by Listening
- Be sensitive to your body. Your body tells you when you need to make a change. For example, in my 30’s I had migraines regularly. I already knew that giving my body what it needs for life was important. I wrote down everything I ate and saw a pattern. Cheese, luncheon meats, hot dogs, chocolate, and other foods all contain sodium nitrates and nitrites. I eliminated food with these preservatives and haven’t had a full-blown migraine in over 30 years. If my body is broken, I can’t complete His will for me.
- As a tween along with my other siblings, we drank a can of beer and smoked a cigarette when our parents were away. It took a few seconds to realize how distasteful both are. Should I decide to drink a glass of wine, I ALWAYS get a headache right away. My body is saying, “That’s not a good idea.” Wine contains those unhealthy preservatives I mentioned earlier.
- My body revs up when stressed and I know right away. I simply stop, refocus, and real or walk away from the computer, take a bath, read, etc. Sometimes I find a quiet place to pray. Stress is a sure way to divert my attention away from God.
- Stop harmful habits. When God tells you to stop watching a program, then do it. More than likely it’s fueled by death words that never build life inside you. He may tell you to get away from toxic friends or to give Him the attention you devote to social media platforms.
Use Common Sense
- Live a clean life. Maybe that sounds boring to you but when people ask me why I look younger than my years, I always say “clean living.” Drinking myself into a stupor or staying up all night to be cool doesn’t make a lick of sense to me.
- Speak healthy words. I never say, “I’m always sick, I’ll get the flu or my aching back”. If I see myself sick, my body naturally follows suit.
- Laugh. Laughter does so much to relieve stress and contributes to a better outlook on life.
- Plan wholesome and fun activities. Take a walk in the park, go to a movie, bowl, visit a zoo, etc.
- Get regular checkups. I don’t do this because I feel so good but I plan to include this in my health regimen.
- Exercise my faith. I’m a Christian so my faith contributes to staying healthy. To do that, I maintain healthy relationships with other people and stay at peace with everyone. I depend on God to take care of the big stuff.
Your Body is the Temple of God: Develop Healthy Routines
- Get a minimum of 8 hours of good-quality sleep. Avoid or don’t drink caffeinated beverages, go to bed about the same time each night, and try (this is hard) to be off the computer by 7:00 p.m. For me, late hours on the computer fuel insomnia.
- Maintain a healthy weight and stay close to the normal weight for your height and frame. If you gain 5 lbs., it’s easier to diet until the weight comes off instead of looking at 20 or 30 lbs to lose. Eating healthy meals helps you feel better. Your body is less likely to bloat or have dips in energy.
- Drink water. Divide your weight in half and convert it to ounces. For example, if a man weighs 200 lbs, he should drink 100 ounces of water per day.
- Exercise a minimum of 3 times a week for 30 minutes each time. People stop exercising because they don’t like a specific exercise. I rotate between walking, aerobics, and working with weights so I don’t get bored. Plus, those are the exercises I prefer.
A few more routines
- In addition to exercise, I include 10–15 minutes of stretches each morning. Muscles don’t succumb to stiffness as easily. When I don’t hurt, I can keep my mind on God.
- Take nutritional supplements. Because I’m older, I eat less to maintain a consistent weight. For that reason, I take a multivitamin and other supplements to make up for nutrients I don’t get in food. Research which supplements to take because some are junk.
- Purchase organic or all-natural foods, cleaning products, and toiletries.
My certified nutritionist friend takes a popular packaged snack with her to presentations. The “food” hasn’t rotted in over 10 years (and no signs that it will) because it contains an abundance of chemicals. She also conducted an experiment on the dessert using ants. The ants ate real food but skirted around the dessert. Wise ants.
Honor God with Your Body by Not Sinning
Think about a time you’ve blatantly sinned (watched porn, an affair, or something else that’s slimy). You knew you should stop but continued. Before long, sin catches up with your body and it starts to break down. Here’s why:
James 1:14-15 – But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Romans 6:6 – Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
Some Christians believe since their sins are covered by the blood of Jesus, sinning isn’t a big deal. They find out quickly how untrue that is. Their bodies start to naturally decline because sin quickens the death process.
Christians display God’s image and His Kingdom in how they value their bodies. Your body is what others see first before they know you’re a Christian. It’s important to make a first, good impression because make no mistake—others are watching.