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Respect

           Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (I Corinthians 6:19-20)

          I’ve heard a pastor say that he was moving from preaching to “meddling” when he got too personal, and too close to home. Somewhere between worshipping your body and abusing your body, there is a line – and it may be a thick line – that involves treating your body with respect. We need to find that place, but that’s not what this passage is talking about.

          How would you treat the home of a dear friend who happens to be wealthy, powerful, and important? We tend to think of our bodies as belonging to us, so we can turn the question around. How do we treat our own homes when a dear friend who happens to be wealth, powerful, and important comes to visit? If we are a good visitor or host, chances are good we’ll try to keep the place clean and presentable until we get distracted. Sometimes, we’ll find ourselves thinking that the visitor or host should accept us as we are. To say that it must be one or the other is a false dichotomy. Both the host and the visitor can work together, but the key is that both sides must show some measure of respect. And the reality is that God does treat our bodies with respect. We’re  the ones that don’t respect ourselves or Him as we should.

          But, I’ve noted before that God isn’t Martha Stewart or Miss Manners. Jesus was a carpenter or stone mason. He knows how to repair damage we’ve done, if we’ll just listen. Yes, He will deal with the fetid pile of garbage rotting on the living room carpet, but chances are good that He’ll put in a new window that changes your perspective of it.

          The challenge for each of us is to ask Him to show us what change He wants to make, and join Him in it, rather than assuming we know and refusing to discuss the matter with Him.

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