1 Cor. 6:19-20: A Story about Loving your Body

"What? Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 6:19-20)


This scripture passages is now probably one of my new favorites. It is just so powerful. Your body is a temple. Your body is sacred. Your body is a place for the Holy Ghost to dwell. Think on that for a minute.

Did you notice Paul's first word in this passage? He says, "What?" To me, it almost sounds as if he is shocked that the people he is writing to do not known the worth of their bodies. I wonder what he would say today. He would probably start out with this very expression, but possibly with a few explanation marks.

There, perfect.

With all that goes on in the media today, with the constant message of how your body should look and how you need to change yourself to be beautiful, Paul's message needs to be heard now more than ever. And believed. Your body is a gift. It's a gift from Christ, who "bought it with a price". Don't take this gift and treat it like garbage, don't look in the mirror and loathe this gift and wish it looked like someone else's. Take care of this gift. Embrace it. Love yourself. 

The other part of Paul's message that I love is that your body does not define you. Your body is a gift, but it is not who you are. No matter what condition your body is in, whether it has carried you through rough times that you now wear the mark of or the body that you were given is not as perfect as you would like, remember that it does not define you. You are not your body. You are so much more. Your soul, how you live your life, how you treat others...that is what defines you.

Moral of the Story: You are one of God's children and he loves you. You should try to love yourself as well, because you are magnificent. By caring for your body, both physically and through the way you look at it, you can glorify God who gave you that gift.

P.S. If you haven't ever watched the short film "The Butterfly Circus", you definitely should. It's one of my favorite videos and is simply inspiring.