“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20, ESV).
Do you know someone who regularly puts themself down and thinks of this as humility? I would like to lovingly suggest that this kind of habit is saddening to our Abba Father. He spent eternity past dreaming up the masterpieces that He would create in you and me, in His very own image. To have someone constantly tearing them down grieves Him. This is false humility. It is the opposite of gratitude for His goodness to us in knitting us together fearfully and wonderfully, as a reflection of His own glory and magnificent creativity.
I recently had a conversation with a young man who struggles with feeling good about his body. He acknowledged to me that he knows this goes back to elementary school, where he was often teased about his weight. Now, as a teenager, he has a hard time seeing his physical frame in the mirror through positive eyes.
I was able to share with him about my own journey in this area, which has taken place over many years. I could very much relate to the experience of looking in the mirror with faultfinding eyes. I was there for a long time. Can you relate? If so, read on, my friend, because this is for you.
I remember when Holy Spirit began to lovingly convict me about this. He whispered to my heart a phrase from His Word, where He addresses correction to the “…harsh treatment of the body” (Col. 2:23, NIV). In doing so, He was asking me not to be harsh towards my body, even in my thoughts and inner attitudes.
As this young man and I discussed the topic, it got me thinking… and not just thinking, but also listening to Holy Spirit speak to me more on the matter. Here is what I believe He is putting on my heart for you and me.
Dear one, He wants us to not only accept, but even have affection for our bodies. To move in this direction, first of all, we need to take habitual thoughts captive – those thought darts from the enemy aimed at getting us to reject our bodies. God is calling us to replace the harsh critical attitude we have grown accustomed to having towards ourselves… with kindness and affirmation towards these fearfully and wonderfully made homes of Holy Spirit Himself: our bodies!
In order to be obedient to Him in this area, we need to partner with Him, engaging with His Word. We need to choose His Word for the way we speak to ourselves within our own thoughts, about our bodies. We can choose self-talk along these lines: “My body is strong. It is the holy temple of the Spirit of God. It carries the marks of His majesty. Made in His own image, it is awe-inspiring. It has served me with such faithful service, taking me everywhere I want to go. I am grateful for this amazing and precious gift, thank You Father!”
As any other area, this will be a process. You now, I am right there with you; I have come a long way, and I am still needing to grow here. My marvelously created friend, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up in this area of obedience to Him!
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How is your growth journey going, in the area of agreeing with God about how He created you?
Feeding On Jesus 
Thanks for this post. “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well (Psalm 139:14).”
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You are welcome, CG. And AMEN, one of my favorite verses!
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I needed this. Desperately. And God provided through the voice of your blogging ministry. Thank you again!
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Aw I am SO grateful that our Daddy God used it to minister to you! He loves you so very much. You are welcome, truly 🙂
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I’m now an old man. It’s not the physical self I despise, it’s the stupidity, the failure to live as my Creator intends. Too often I curse myself, call myself a fool or worse. Thanks for the reminder to see myself through my Father’s eyes.
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Aw you are so welcome, my friend! He is so patient with you. I was just reading today in my quiet time, it’s His kindness that leads us to repentance. As you allow His kindness to flow through you, to you, it will help you continue to grow in grace and in every way. 🙂 His richest blessings of grace and peace to you today, Robert.
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A friend once noted to me, humility is NOT thinking less of oneself (I.e., putting yourself down). It is thinking of yourself less; just not paying attention to one’s own desires and looking for the good for others. 🙂
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Wonderfully expressed. A quote from Elisabeth Elliott that I have repeated to my daughter so much that today I almost did so again, and she already knew what i was going to say (haha): For every one look at the self, ten looks at Christ!
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Thank you for the reminder in this blog not just about appreciation of our mortal temple but also the careful concern about how we treat His Creation. What medications or adornments etc. Prayerfully always if we truly believe it is His Temple. His to be consulted about our desires whims etc . Blessings!
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Amen! May He bring us to the place where we consult Him about absolutely everything. For He alone is worthy!
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Love this post! Thanks for sharing.
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Aw I’m so glad you were blessed by it! You are welcome my dear sister 🙂
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Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not so good. More often than not I struggle with procrastination, particularly when it comes to my physical training for the World Ultimate (frisbee) Club Champs. Sometimes I think I’m doing ok, other times I think I could and should be doing better. More workouts, more intensity, less time wasted before getting started and between exercises.
One other thing I struggle to be ok with is a receding hairline. I’d like to be able to style it particular ways but that becomes less doable the less hair I have. The important thing I try to remember is to continue sharing kindness. Being kind to myself includes not fretting about this much because:
A. I have little control over the amount of hair I have.
B. The amount of hair I have has little bearing on how I share God’s word and message with others.
Both of these I’m still working on, and that’s ok. 🙂
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Yes, there is so much grace for your journey! Praying abundance of peace for you as you keep pushing forward. Proud of you!
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