How God Wants Us to See Our Bodies

[Originally published as The Christian Attitude Towards Our Bodies]

My understanding of the Hindu view of the body is that it is my enemy, so, to be godly, the man seeking holiness goes out to the forest and doesn’t eat, drink, wear clothes, or find any physical comfort. He must learn to not want anything, and then he is considered holy and happy because the person who does not want anything can’t be hurt. As Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind said, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a d*mn!”

As a Christian, I see the body very differently. Yes, I need to live after the Spirit, not after the flesh, but the “flesh” Paul was discussing was not the physical being, but rather the godless nature. I need to take care of my body. I remember a children’s song I was taught in Telugu as a child, which translates to:

These two hands of mine, God gave them both to me; gave them to me for his service.

The song then proceeded down a list of body parts God wants me to use for him. Another Sunday school song went, “Be careful little hands what you do. There’s a father up above who is looking down in love, so be careful little hands what you do.” Both of these express in simple terms things it is vital for me to remember decades later.

My Body Is Full of Tools for God’s Service

1. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
2. I express my obedience to God by yielding my body members as slaves to Christ to do the opposite of my natural, selfish inclination.
3. I trust God to care for me as I know he counts the hairs on my head.

What does it look like to view the components of my body as tools?

1. I use my mind to worship and plan good for others and ponder God’s thoughts after him.
2. Use my eyes to see the lilies, the ripe harvest, and the needs of others.
3. Use my mouth to exhort, rebuke, comfort, and teach.
4. Use my nose and tongue to savor the richness of this world which God has given me.
5. Use my hands to heal, lift up, serve, and build.
6. Use my back to bear others’ burdens.
7. Use my legs to carry me to places of ministry and to enjoy God’s creation.
8. Use my feet to wriggle in the dirt of the garden and run to the places of battle, service, and to bring glad tidings to others.

How do I care for these tools?

Exercise daily. Doctors used to say that three times a week was enough to keep people fit but new research suggests exercise to the point of puffing and panting is needed in order to keep the blood vessels to the brain open properly. This is enough to cause at least a 2 IQ point advantage over a sedentary lifestyle. Happily, 10 minutes of such cardio exercise a day is enough. Surely I can find 10 minutes somewhere.

Get enough sleep. When I think that “I can function fine on less sleep,” I am wrong. The last 3 hours of an 8-hour sleep cycle is what restores my damaged nerves, replaces my neurotransmitters, helps me remember the positives from the day before, strengthens healthy new habits, etc.

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. Psalm 127:2 2

Release tension. Every part of my body is depleted with useless, retained stress.

Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a SHEW of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and NEGLECTING OF THE BODY: not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh. Colossians 2:20–23

Don’t neglect the body.

Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse. Daniel 1:12-16

Eat healthy. Avoid added sugar, and eat plenty of unprocessed foods, including plenty of fiber.

I recently walked the Mackinaw bridge with 9 of my 10 grandchildren. Being on vacation I “cheated” and had some high carbohydrate snacks. My IQ plummeted and I could barely summon the strength to walk the bridge. I jumped back on my healthy diet and regained my energy and focus in a day or so.

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: I Corinthians 9:24–27

Exercise and keep in good shape for better service of God and others

My body is not my master but God’s servant to be stewarded like all of God’s marvelous gifts to me.

For we are his workmanship [His proof of genius, His ultimate work of art], created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

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Do I ignore and take poor care of his body, which he bought with a great price after having made it the first place? Or, do you indulge its every whim to its destruction?

Let us care for our bodies like a Stradivarius violin and let God draw sweet music from its chords?

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:
marvellous are thy works;
and that my soul knoweth right well. Psalm 139:14