Glorify God

             Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. (I Corinthians 6:19-20)

 

Lots of conviction here. The best way to describe it is that I have lost the war with my body. It not only doesn’t glorify God, but most of the time, it’s a disgrace. I could come up with a list of excuses, but the reality is that I don’t want to expend the time, money, and energy required to focus on doing the things that would discipline my body and cause it to be what I think would glorify God. If I did them, I suspect I wouldn’t glorify God as much as I would glorify myself.

There are several things I don’t do: I don’t drink, smoke, or otherwise use alcohol or those substances generally considered “recreational drugs.” I’m not sexually active. My “snack food” is popcorn (sprayed with butter-flavored spray, not drizzled with butter) or it’s some “normal” food – unless someone brings treats to work. Most of the coffee I drink is decaf. I don’t go out to eat unless I’m on a trip. But I don’t exercise enough, and I eat too much food. Even healthy food in greater quantity than needed isn’t healthy. And while one can never have another glass of alcohol or never smoke another cigarette, it’s not really advisable to decide to never eat another bit of food.

But does my not doing the things I don’t do glorify God? Would my doing the things I should do glorify God? What glorifies God?

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove

to be My disciples. (John 15:8) 

I’m not going to suggest that how I treat my body – my gluttony and self-indulgence – doesn’t matter. But what if the point is not my/your body and is God’s glory? I have three friends who have (had) broken backs. There are things they can’t do with their bodies now, and there are things at least one of them may never be able to do again. Does this mean they can’t glorify God with their bodies? And if bearing much fruit is what glorifies God, should we single out love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control? (Galatians 5:22-23)

And granted, love…self-control are separated into discrete items so that we can discuss them; they are all part of the fruit (singular) of the Spirit, and they aren’t really separable from the others. But the question remains: how does one glorify God with his/her body? The answer that comes to mind is “Now… for the next ten to thirty seconds.” How? The answer that comes to mind is “Do what’s obvious.” And when I’m done with that “now”? There’s another now and something else that’s obvious.