"Don't you realise 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 honour God with your body." – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
The Bible clearly tells us that when we receive Christ, our body becomes the dwelling place for God's Holy Spirit, and thus becomes His temple. Our body is not for our own pleasure anymore; instead, it is for the Lord's purposes, and in honouring God we must take care of it.
Here are some practical ways we can honour God by taking care of our body, the temple of the Holy Spirit.
1. Watch What You Eat or Drink
Computer programmers have this saying, "Garbage in, garbage out." That same principle applies to our body: What we eat or drink determines just how healthy we will become.
Go back over the past few days or weeks in your life and ask yourself, "What have I been feeding myself lately?" Keep in mind that consuming unbalanced diet, and high amounts of sugar, unhealthy fats, sodium, and chemicals used in food aren't good for you.
Take care of your body. You use it to serve God.
2. Get Enough Exercise
In 1Timothy 4:8, Paul says that training for godliness is better than physical training. But that doesn't mean we should not exercise anymore. "Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come."
We should realise the benefits of giving our bodies some needed exercise. Having a good physical health enables one to do more things, go longer distances, exert more physical efforts, and endure many physical challenges. Such capacities are beneficial for preachers, missionaries, volunteers, and perhaps any area of service, which we as God's people are expected to do.
3. Get Enough Rest
Have you ever wondered why God set times for rest on a daily and weekly basis? It's because our bodies need rest.
Going on long periods without rest endangers our health very badly. A grave lack of sleep, a long period of stress without rest, and a lifestyle of staying up too late with barely enough sleep or resting time will greatly put one's health in danger.
Get enough sleep. If God rested on the seventh day, you need to rest, too. You can't serve God when your body is down from fatigue. Give your concerns to God and go to sleep.
