*Post updated October 2022, Originally posted November 2021
Have you ever felt unworthy that God chose your body as His home on this earth?
I sure have, especially in a world that teaches us to obsess about every imperfection in our bodies and though unrealistic, to aim for perfect bodies. That impossible feat sounds like the planned lie of the enemy; yet, God isn’t saying that at all. (I John 2:16-17)
The beauty of the gospel is that through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven of our sins, made holy and whole (as He created us before evil could taint us), thus worthy of the Holy Spirit taking up residency within our earthly bodies. What a beautiful and redemptive picture!
A New Focus for the Holiday Season
Unfortunately, this time of year, our culture pushes us to experience all the pleasures of this life (that God created and man distorts) without restraint, without a thought to the consequences of our choices, then guilts us at the beginning of the year to right all our holiday wrongs.
Sound familiar?
Well, Christian Friend, I don’t want you to take that trip down Regret Lane this year, and I feel sure the Lord doesn’t want you to either.
Instead, I’d love to partner with you to help you shift your focus to see this holiday season as an opportunity to honor God with your body and stick it to the devil!
I believe that starts with the right mindset of:
1) seeing that the way you treat your body is a reflection of the value you put on God’s creation, and
2) your understanding that it’s a vessel that allows you to love and serve God and others to your best ability. (Ephesians 2:10)
Honoring God with Your Body
Though, we await new (perfect) bodies one day when Christ returns (Philippians 3:21), now we are charged to take care of our whole being — body, mind, and spirit. To neglect any part of who we are is to neglect God’s creation. Instead, Paul urges us to express our gratitude for what God has done for us by dedicating our bodies as vessels for His use. (Romans 12:1-2a)
Furthermore, Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that as Christians, our bodies are God’s temple and not our own.
How you choose to honor God’s temple takes discernment, but I’d like to give you a few biblical truths to consider when applying to this topic of our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit.
1. Abide with God daily.
I can’t overstate the importance of this quiet time alone with God during such a hectic and distracting season. It will help you stay grounded and intentional in a world of overstimulation, overindulgence, and overspending. The Enemy uses this tactic of separating us from our one true Source of love, life, and joy so we focus on everything but God during this time. Once we’ve filled our tank, we can fill others’ tanks.
Simply said: spend time in God’s Word, and He will produce the fruit of His Spirit in you. (John 15:4-5)
2. In the time we spend with God, He’s renewing our minds. (Romans 12:2)
Instead of being conformed to the ways of the world by eating more than we need, turning to food instead of God for comfort, eating foods that destroy rather than edify our health, becoming sedentary binge-watchers or social media consumers, or even obsessing about every morsel we consume and the calories we still have to burn by the end of the day, we see those as tactics of the enemy to sabotage God’s temple or make it an idol. Instead, we can think differently…
– “How can I fuel my body to best fill my Kingdom role?”
– “What food or activity will give me energy instead of depleting it?”
– “What habits will help my body fight illness and disease that weakens the human body and causes suffering and debilitation, thus inhibiting my Kingdom work?”
3. Through our communion with our Father, He’s filling us with His Spirit so we produce the fruit of self-control.
With self-control, we are proactive, rather than reactive and filled with regret to try to undo the damage of our choices, as the world does. (Galatians 5:22-23) Think about eating and exercise disorders; medication; weight loss interventions like pills, shakes, extreme diets, and surgeries. Our culture offers us a quick fix to clean up the mess we’ve made, a human rescue (Isaiah 30:2) that the enemy uses to influence us into not depending on God.
Notice that the solution to our failures doesn’t lie in our culture’s ways but in a gentle, not harsh, response (also a fruit of the Spirit) and repentance for our sins, which involves a turning away from those harmful behaviors. (Ezekiel 14:6)
Let’s revisit self-discipline: I invite you to pause and ask the help of the Holy Spirit to bring to mind situations where you tend to overindulge, be lazy, obsess, or neglect. Think about how the last situation made you feel (sick, weak, tired, stressed, ashamed, etc), and how you’d rather feel. Ask the Holy Spirit to support you the next time you’re in that situation and to show you the best choice that you should make to glorify Him in your body. You’re making a plan ahead of time and praying for strength before you go to that Christmas party, for example.
4. When we see ourselves through God’s eyes...
…we understand that we’re His beloved, worthy of self-care, self-compassion, self-kindness, self-gentleness. (Colossians 3:12)
Our actions are a reflection of our beliefs; they bear witness to what’s in our hearts and can be a testimony to the glory of God our Father or a tool in the enemy’s hands to evoke self-loathing, self-obsession, self-pity, self-reliance, and ultimately self-destruction. When we understand our true value, we start asking ourselves questions like,
– “Is this [food, activity, behavior, relationship, investment of time/money/energy] life-giving or life-depleting?” (John 10:10)This will look different for everyone because we’re unique individuals.
– “How does it help me live my purpose and glorify God?” (Ephesians 2:10)
– “Does it serve me or do I serve it?” (Has it become an idol? -Galatians 4:8)
5. God has given us good gifts to enjoy and has met all our needs...
through the food He’s put on this earth, the communities He’s made us a part of, His other creations like animals, the beauty of nature, and the opportunity to experience and care for nature. Yet, it’s a constant human struggle to see a good thing as just that without making it a god-thing. Let this busy holiday season ahead be your training ground, where you are intentional about enjoying God’s good gifts with gratitude and are simultaneously aware when you start to make them your idol (the thing that competes for God’s place in your heart). (Romans 1) That idol doesn’t have to be food, it can be something like exercise too.
6. We are called to be faithful stewards to all that He has given us, including our bodies.
I challenge you not to think of God’s loving guidelines (warnings about gluttony and indulgence, for example) as rules you have to follow in order to please Him but to think of how you get to maximize what He has given you (think of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30). How are you investing in your body to live a life worthy of your calling? (Ephesians 4:1)
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Leah Campián is a Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach, Certified Culinary Nutrition Expert, Certified Revelation Wellness Instructor, speaker, author of the Amazon best-seller Ditch the Diet, and wants to share health through a “God-centered lens.” She has a burning desire to help her brothers and sisters in Christ move from surviving to thriving so they can passionately fill their purpose and make a positive and loving impact in our world.
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7 Responses
Loved this!! Leah and I need to be besties!!
She’s pretty amazing!
That was wonderful! You took all my thoughts and put them in writing so I can easily share them with others:) Thank you!
Very helpful and beautiful reminders.
We think so too, Stephanie! Thankful this blessed you!
This was a helpful blog! I’m going into the holidays with a better mindset and a more freedom! God bless!
We’re so glad this post blessed you, Kim!