1 Corinthians 6:19 (NIV)
“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;”
You are not your own. This is a very interesting thought. How many of us live for ourselves? Do you? I know that usually I do, and I wish I didn’t. My body is not my own and therefore I need to live like it isn’t mine. It’s been interesting because during communications class we have been doing pros and cons of a topic. One of the topics thats been brought up is assisted suicide. Now my personal opinion is that it is murder to commit suicide. The Bible says that “You are not your own”; therefore you don’t have the right to kill yourself do you? It’s murder. This applies in other aspects of life to. If your body isn’t your own, then shouldn’t you treat it like you would treat another persons body? You would care for it…. Personal hygiene, eating healthy, not doing stupid and dangerous things. Basically you need to take care of yourself, or should I say take care of God’s workmanship. God created you, and loves you and wants you to take care of yourself, his temple. He gave you free choice, yes you can make bad decisions, but he doesn’t want you to.

1 Corinthians 6:12 (The Message)
“Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it’s spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I’d be a slave to my whims.”

So what does this mean? It means not everything is good for you to do. Yes it is legal for you to drink past 21, yes it is legal to have sex outside of marriage, yes it is legal to be stupid…….but does that mean it’s good for you, or it’s what God wants for you? NO! God wants you to be smart and safe, and therefore even though he has given you freedom to do whatever you want, it is not all benifical to him.

1 Corinthians 10:23 (NIV)

Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive.”

So treat your body with respect, and care for others. If you don’t own your body, God does, and God wants you to care for others. He wants you to be blessed through helping others. Truthfully you don’t own your body, it is a gift from God that he is giving your freedom. Do you know what that gift cost God?

His only son.

He died.

For you.

He died on a cross.

With nails.

He was beaten.

Made fun of.

Jeared at.

Spit on.

Mocked.

Kicked.

And hung on that cross to die.

For you.

Will you accept that gift? Will you choose to give it back to him? By sacrificing your body for God? Will you let God call you to do his work? Will you listen and follow? I can say that if you do, if you accept the gift and follow God, you will be blessed.

Luke 6:22

“Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.”

John 13:17

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

James 1:12

“Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.”

Wow…. If you stick it out through hard times, say when you are letting God use your life, what will you get? “the reward is life and more life”. Isn’t that amazing? The more life you give, the more of yourself you put into you work, the more life you will have. What an amazing thought, promise and blessing. Will you give the gift back to God?

Only you can answer that.