
In Haggai 1:8, God commands the Israelites to “go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, (which means temple) so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored.” The commandment given to the Israelites in terms of the Old Testament temple, which was a building where God manifested His presence among His people, is the same for us regarding the New Testament temple of the Holy Spirit, which is your body. In other words, we are commanded to eat for God’s glory, exercise for His glory, and otherwise take care of His holy temple in order to please and honor God not to attract a spouse or look good in a bikini.
The Holy Spirit dwells in, meaning He lives inside of you, when you accept Christ as your Savior. You become His home! In 1 Corinthians 6:20, we are specifically commanded to honor God with our bodies. “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. For you were bought at a price (the blood of the Lamb); therefore, honor (or glorify) God with your body and in your spirit which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Furthermore, Jesus said, ”He who loves Me obeys My commands” (John 14:21). Likewise, we are further commanded in 1 Corinthians 10:31 to eat and drink for the glory of God.
This command was actually first given in the Garden of Eden when God told Adam and Eve to abstain from eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil but to partake from every other tree in the Garden. He made no exceptions when they disobeyed His command. On the contrary, He cast them out of the Garden, and as promised, they experienced death. The same held true for the Israelites when they broke their covenant with God which included eating only the foods ordained as clean for His glory. As promised, God punished them with enslavement and death as a result of the Babylonian attack on Jerusalem.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). God did not accept excuses for disobedience then, and He will not accept them now. As Adam and Eve and the Jews learned the hard way, you must also realize that God “disciplines those He loves like a father the son he delights in” (Proverbs 3:12). Since your body is God’s house, it does not belong to you. That means you do not make the rules concerning it just as a child in the natural has to abide by his parents’ rules while he lives in their home. Consequently, you do not set the limits on rebuilding and repairing the damage you have done to the temple of the Holy Spirit. God does!
Unless He says, “That’s enough! I’m pleased and satisfied,” you resist the temptation of cravings, you ignore the whining voice of fatigue, and you push through every plateau until the temple is a place that glorifies and honors God! You will know when you reach that point because His presence will be manifested in you like never before just as it filled the physical temple in 2 Chronicles 5:14 when God was pleased because King Solomon and the Israelites completed construction of the Old Testament temple.
You can choose to obey His commands to honor Him with your body by eating and drinking for His glory, or you can continue to be lazy, procrastinate, or otherwise make excuses for your disobedience and suffer the consequences, namely hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, stroke, complications resulting from an eating disorder, and ultimately, premature death. Tomorrow is not promised to you, and even if you do live to see it, it could be too late as heart attacks and strokes often occur with little or no warning.
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose this day whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). If you are ready to serve the Lord by eating and drinking for His glory, then purchase your copies of the Eating as an Act of Worship Workbook and the Eating as an Act of Worship Teacher’s Edition online today at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. In the books, you will learn the biblical principles regarding the body, dieting, exercising, and maintaining a healthy body for the glory of God. Read our weekly blog for motivation to stay healthy and fit through Christ. Follow us daily on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for recipes, and diet and exercise tips. Tune in to our syndicated radio show on the DFW Den Radio Station, the StudioW Buzz Radio Station, and Victory KVDW 100.9 FM, 95.3 FM, and 1530 AM in Little Rock, Arkansas for interviews and health and fitness trends. Lastly, make your tax-deductible donation to Eating as an Act of Worship Ministries at www.eatingasanactofworshipministries.org!