Paul tells us to keep things ship-shape to respect the deal that was made for us.
1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple 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 body.
Bought and paid for
Coming from a farm in the Midwest, I’ll admit it’s tough to accept the last statement in verse 19. We tend to think we take care of ourselves and maybe our family but that’s not what Paul is saying. He’s saying we don’t really belong to us; we belong to God.
Not that we want to look at it that way
I don’t know where you land on the idea of being someone else’s. If you’re married, according to any pop song’s lyrics, you’re owned by the other person at least most of the time (the most of the time is why we have Country music, but I digress). Certainly you’re part of a family of some shape or form but they didn’t buy you, in fact they might not have wanted to pay anything for you, you were just sort of given to them. No, what Paul is saying is God paid for you and he paid with his Son.
The most colossal trade ever
This wasn’t a cash transaction. This was done on the barter system. God offered his Son and in exchange your body would be a place for the Holy Spirit. Prior to these verses in chapter six Paul goes on a bit of a rant naming the types of wicked people whose activities, sexual and otherwise, that won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Just like you wouldn’t park a Mercedes in a broken down corn crib, Paul says you need to take care of your body so that it’s worthy of the Holy Spirit. But do we do that or even accept the responsibility or truth of it?
Was it a good deal?
Beyond some sort of Midwest independence ethic I doubt many of us think we have an obligation to keep our bodies clean and pure for the Holy Spirit. Sure, we may chase the latest diet or fitness trend but that’s for us; so we look good. It’s all well and good but how are we doing on the inside? How much time and attention do we spend considering if we qualify as a temple? Not much I imagine. I hope you’ll do some looking around in there. We could all use a little tidying up.
Something to Think About:
What or where do you need to get things in order, to clean up?