Your TEMPLE and You: A Five-Star Hotel or a Run-Down Motel?
by Muthoni Ringera
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (AMP)
“Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, (Vs.20) You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honour God and bring glory to Him in your body.”
REFERENCE VERSES:
Psalm 139:14 (KJV) “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”
Romans 12: 1-2 (AMP) “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship”.
(Vs.2) “Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]“.
1 Peter 3:3-4 (AMP) “Let not yours be the [merely] external adorning with [elaborate] interweaving and knotting of the hair, the wearing of jewellery, or changes of clothes;
(Vs.4) “But let it be the inward adorning and beauty of the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, which [is not anxious or wrought up, but] is very precious in the sight of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:23(AMP) “All things are legitimate (permissible), [and we are free to do anything we please], but not all things are helpful ( expedient, profitable, and wholesome). All things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life].”
1 Thessalonians 5:21 (AMP) “But test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast.
My Beautiful Women of the Faith! We need to discuss some things! Namely: beauty, fashion, fitness and the nutritional approach to beauty and fitness. Why? Because we are stewards of them! Question is, are you a good steward? Well, I began with the verses to get those cogs in your brain, fibres of your heart and conscience within your spirit on the move so they can then process our discussion in the context of those verses. I call it a ‘discussion’ because as you read this, if you’re anything like me, you will be responding to the issues raised, either audibly or in your thoughts, with questions and rationalizations – probably in approval or disapproval – and maybe even in defence of your own views on a particular issue. I encourage it! Because then we can work out our feelings and attitudes towards these 4 areas that women generally spend time (and lots of it!) wanting, wondering and worrying about, then feel guilty for focussing on these ‘external’ things instead of the things that will build their ‘inner being’.
After praying about what to write as my first article, I felt strongly that the issues we may come across, or the conflicting feelings regarding those 4 areas, in relation to our life as Christian women, would have to be the first place to start, so that in articles to come, we can get down to the fun part- getting that vessel you are renewed and polished to its best in every way to the glory of Him who gave it to us! As we are told in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (AMP), “So then, honour God and bring glory to Him in your body.”
We are women. We are the beauty of creation. This is why it is an area that we all relate to. Be it skin care for some- searching for that one bottle of lotion or tub of scrub, pot of cream or tube of serum that will work for us; or make-up for others-getting that perfect match for the flawless finish to accentuate the unique qualities of our features. Then when it comes to clothing, some look for fashions that flatter their figures (or hide them!), others look for clothing to get creative with and allow their personalities to shine through, while some want to exude a particular quality, be it classy or casual, dressy or official- depending on the occasion.
So why do some of us tend to do what has been called ‘over-spiritualizing’ this aspect? By that I mean, deciding that caring for ourselves in this way or taking the time to do it, is selfish or not holy. And how do we ‘over-spiritualize’? Taking a verse from the bible and interpreting it for yourself, then making it somewhat a ‘law’ for yourself, and in the course of interacting with other Christian women who share different attitudes towards that particular ‘standard’ you have created for yourself , you either impose it on them, sometimes demonizing it, or being judgmental about it. For instance, look at Romans 12: 1-2 (AMP) and 1 Peter 3:3-4 (AMP) above, which are the verses some of the Christian women I have come across tend to quote and rationalize in explaining why they do not dress their best, or look their best. By that I’m talking about being decently fashionable, not frumpy and accentuating your natural beauty with cosmetics and a good skin care regime. Compare these verses with Titus 3:9. Granted, what may be frumpy to me may be Sunday best to you, but the question is, are you doing your best for God with what He has provided you with?
We are indeed told to “make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties]“. But do you think that it means we are to live out our lives having no regard for the physical body and living out only a spiritual life? If that were the case you would have experienced rapture by now! Because that is the only time our physical, mortal bodies will become fully spirit and immortal (1 Corinthians 15:53 (AMP)). Note that in Peter, we are told not to be ‘merely’ about the external beautification. That does not mean we are NOT to adorn and beautify the outer person, but we are to be more about ‘the inward adorning and beauty of the hidden person of the heart.’
I like what Jacqui said in last month’s article, “I have a theory that when you take care of your skin, then the joy of the Lord shines through more brightly!” I couldn’t agree more! As I have a similar theory I call my ’3 step’. It’s as simple as ‘look good= feel better=do best!’ I do not mean that doing our best is based on our outward appearance. Rather, I am trying to say that our appearance can affect the way we feel and therefore our performance.
Because when you have insecurities about anything on the exterior, whether it’s the condition of your skin or body, to how you’re dressed, then how would you be able to concentrate on glorifying God by being a blessing to those around you to the fullest of the unique abilities He gave to you? I believe a lot of women operate at a much lower percentage of the potential they have, because of insecurities and concerns about the area they have decided to lose focus of- their physical being and appearance. The root issue behind insecurity is disbelieving God’s word in Psalm 139 that you are fearfully and wonderfully made – in the image of God Himself.
You gave your life to Jesus to become free of the law because the Holy Spirit would live within you and guide you in every area. So where did this creation of legalistic ‘laws’ about what a Christian woman should apply or not wear come from? Romans 14 tells us we are free in Christ, but Romans 6:1 tells us that grace is not an excuse to sin. When did being fashion conscious become a ‘thing we don’t do’, or accentuating our natural beauty with make-up or nail polish become unholy? Fashion-consciousness does not necessarily mean being skimpy. And modesty does not mean being frumpy. And when did caring for our shape and size with exercise become unimportant? Have we not come to a place where we understand that “All things are legitimate (permissible), [and we are free to do anything we please], but not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable, and wholesome). All things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life]. (1 Corinthians 10:23(AMP)), and that is why in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (AMP) we are told to “test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast.”
Now this is what we’ll do. Think about your insecurities, and what you struggle with about your skin, your face and your body. It really isn’t worth letting any of that eat away at the joy and peace you got when you received Christ into your heart, now is it? He came so we may live abundantly and enjoy every day life! And the only way you can be an effective ambassador for our Lord is when His love, joy and peace are able to shine through you, and that will only happen when we take our mind off our ISSUES (by sorting them out through Christ who gives you strength to do away with them!), not ourselves. Romans 12:2 says we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
So Women of the Faith, how about we give Him a 5 star vessel to dwell in, as opposed to a run down, unkempt motel, with a broken down flashing neon sign-indicating they are barely getting by?? Who’s ready to embrace their vessels and re-define the way they see their temple? In reality, Jesus does not need a 5-star hotel – He was born in a manger and lived a humble life. However, He is our God and gave His all for us – are we doing the same for Him in all areas of our lives, including these 4 areas we are thinking about this month?
It is true, before human kind walk by faith, they first walk by sight. So for you who’s seen the Light they seek, what sight do they see when they see you? Would they want to seek Him Who dwells within you?
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