Does what I do in my body matter to God?

If my righteousness comes from faith in Christ alone, why should I care about my body and what happens in it and to it?

Should I consider it important to take care of my body?

What would taking care of my body look like?

To help with these questions, I recall a moment when I was very young.  I had a friend who had a Starsky and Hutch-styled Gran Torino. He let me borrow it to go somewhere.  He was so proud of that car.  The tire tread was not too great on it, as he had been doing burnouts.  It had begun to rain, and while making a right turn, I gave it too much fuel, lost control, and hit a small earthen bank on the side of the road.  I had no job to pay for it at the time, so I had to give him my stereo system to try to compensate for it.  That car was special to him. It was his. He bought and paid for it.  So, for me to take it out and damage it was grievous to him.

When I got my first car, I began to understand the importance of caring for what is mine.  The Bible refers to such behavior as stewardship.  In stewardship matters, we realize that something does not belong to us; another owns it, but we are given management.  This is how we are advised to think of our bodies.  While the body is not all-important, it still carries much significance with God.

1 Corinthians 6:12   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. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.

Who is the body for?  According to this truth shared here, the body is for the Lord.  That means the body is not in charge of all its appetites and desires.  It is to be kept in check so that it can serve the purposes of God. For all who have come to Christ in faith for a new life, their bodies become the temple of the Living God, and God now inhabits our bodies. This is why it goes further to say,

1 Corinthians 6:18   Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 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? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Sexual sin is against the body.  It is akin to someone borrowing a good friend’s new car and then intentionally going out and bashing it into things to damage it, diminish its image, and affect its performance.

It is indeed your body, but it is equally true that it is the temple of God.  God lives in you.  Therefore, he desires that we steward the body we have been given well.  It is meant to be for His service, and to do that, it needs to be cared for and treated with respect.  It is not given the first place of attention in life.  But it is not disregarded as having no significance at all.  For this reason, I do not wish to use my body carelessly or treat it as though it has no importance.  To maintain my body with integrity, I must change my view of it to match what God has said concerning it.  Our body matters.  You only get one during this temporary life on Earth.  I say let’s treat it well, make sure it is capable of accomplishing His will for us, and function as optimally as possible without the hindrances of reckless living.  What say you?  What about your body?