Mind, Body & Spirit

1 Corinthians 6:19 (Contemporary English Version)

"You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own."

Like most people I know, the last thing I think about when I'm prioritizing my day with all its activities is my body. Sometimes I plan for regular meals, although the only one that has been regular in a long time is dinner – it's the one meal a day where, as a family, we're committed to one another being present at table. It's a great meal, don't get me wrong. We get a chance to check in with one another and see how the day went for everyone. We also take a moment to name our best part of the day. Its mandatory in our house – no matter how difficult and challenging a day has been, and trust me there have been many – you have to name your favourite part. Yet when it comes to the other meals I've often seen them as optional. I know that they aren't, yet in ministry its so easy to fly out of the house on your way to the first appointment or that next meeting and assert that you don't have time to eat. Of course there's always the never ending flow of sweets and muffins and coffee or tea to consume during the day, yet those are only empty calories and certainly don't feed the body, yet alone the soul. Why is it that in ministry its so easy to put ourselves last? We're often the last ones who go to the doctor – even though we've advised/counselled others. We're the last ones to eat right – even though we know better. We're the last ones to really take time off – even though we know we should. And we're certainly the last ones to plan exercise into our days – even though we know its important. Why is it that in order for us to serve God through Christ we assume some form of suffering servant persona and continually put ourselves and our families last?

Paul claimed that our bodies were a holy temple. If that's true then what are we really saying about our relationship with God and Christ? What if we treated our physical temples, our places of worship, like we do our bodies and we filled them up with all kinds of greasy, oily, empty junk? Would we agree that this approach to worship and God was correct? I don't think so! I can hear congregations across Canada now screaming about how the church needs to be cleaned up, aired out, and brought up to snuff – yesterday! Yet we don't treat our bodies that way. I'm not trying to claim that we need to take body worship as seriously as God worship, far from it, as more harm comes from this than good. What I'm claiming is that we need to take better care of our bodies and remember that they are, in Paul's words, filled with the Spirit. We are of God and we need to start acting like it.

That's what I've started to do since September started. I make sure I have my prayer time. I make sure to engage myself in a variety of mental activities that use all my skills and I've returned to a workout routine at my local YMCA. Its not much – 35 minutes 3 days a week – and I watch what I eat. Its that simple and already I can feel the difference. Maybe your biological temple will as well and who knows, perhaps even the Spirit in you will be more alive as well.