Our Body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit

1 Corinthians 6:12-20 says to glorify God in body and spirit,

“(12) All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

(13) Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them…

(19) Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

The church fails to recognize food consumption as a stronghold in Christian life unless it is clinically classified as a disorder or the overconsumption of alcohol. But why is that?

The devil is the master of warfare and he’s playing in a war of attrition. He doesn’t need to take you out of the game right away. He knows that God has a plan for you but if he can outwit you one meal a day, seven days a week and twice on Saturdays, 52 weeks a year until you have that doctor’s appointment or that phone call comes – you have cancer, you have an auto-immune disease… how many small battles did the devil win at the dinner table before you could realize what the just happened to you, to your children, to your family member or to your friend?

Are you familiar with the concept of siege warfare?

“Siege Warfare was an ancient and medieval military operation involving the surrounding and blockading of a town, castle or fortress by an army in the attempt to capture it. To lay siege or to besiege. The term derives from the Middle English word 'sege' from the Old French meaning blockade” (www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-weapons/siege-warfare.htm) When you think of a Temple what comes to mind? I think of the Temple David build and King Solomon fortified in Jerusalem. This isn’t just a small temple, this is a completely and heavily fortified structure to protect the inner sanctum. This was a place that the whole population could run to for protection during an attack. The walls of the temple are 2.4966 miles in length surrounding it. They are an average height of 39.37 feet tall and their average thickness is 8.2 feet thick. Just one of the large cut stones at the base of the walls can weight over 160,000 lbs. That is not just a temple, that is a strong fortress (https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/temple-at-jerusalem/the-stones-of-herods-temple-reveal-temple-mount-history/). If Satan’s ultimate goal is to destroy us, do you think he stops trying to find new ways to attack us? When besieging a town or fortified structure, armies would cut off the town from the surrounding area stripping them of their resources and supplies from the outside world. Satan wants to cut you off from the vital resources that God has put on this planet for us. We are constantly under attack by him and he is always trying to find a weak spot in our fortification. It is an all-out attack by land, sea, and air and he will stop at nothing to tear down your walls. If that doesn’t work why wouldn’t he try to starve you out.

As men of God, we can’t be like the others who preach faith, walking in Christ, and praying three times a day but at the first sign of a male gathering we throw out what we know about healthy food. We make the choices each day to fill our bodies with wholesome food that provides the most nutrients and healing qualities. Burgers, fries, hotdogs, and bacon can just as easily become a temptation of the mind and body as other sins.

Satan doesn’t need to win today but he is winning one meal at a time.

According to an article published in October of 2017, “America's Obesity Epidemic Reaches Record High” by Felix Gussone, MD, “America's obesity crisis appears more unstoppable than ever.

A troubling new report released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that almost 40 percent of American adults and nearly 20 percent of adolescents are obese — the highest rates ever recorded for the U.S. "It's difficult to be optimistic at this point," said Dr. Frank Hu, chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. "The trend of obesity has been steadily increasing in both children and adults despite many public health efforts to improve nutrition and physical activity." The continued weight increase in the youngest Americans is especially worrisome for long-term health. One in five adolescents, ages 12–19; one in five kids, ages 6–11, and one in ten preschoolers, ages 2–5 are considered obese, not just overweight.” (https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/america-s-obesity-epidemic-reaches-record-high-new-report-says-n810231) If our Standard American Diet is killing us and our children through heart disease, diabetes, blood clots, clogged arteries, high blood pressure, cancer, sleep apnea, stroke, and fat constricting our organs, then who do you think is really winning the fight in the long term?

In practical terms, we are supposed to put on the full armor of God, but you can’t put on the armor if you are too fat to fit in it. If you are in desperate need of a plus-size in God’s armor, chances are you’re too big to move when you need to. If your obesity is affecting your personal health, how much more is Satan affecting your life and your spiritual health? You’re depressed, you’re out of breath, you can’t move, and you can barely serve.

Dealing with your overall health is much more than a personal choice, you are consciously letting Satan affect multiple facets of your life and it is preventing you to carrying out your full calling to the Body of Christ, to have a full and joyful life, and the to carry out the calling God has for you. If we are too sick to move, how can we have the endurance to finish the race?

We need to radically change the way we, as Christian Watchmen, view diet and health in our church culture.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil.

For yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever and ever. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, The King of Glory, Yahweh.

Amen.