Core Christian Value
We are each given certain assets such as beauty, strength, wisdom and compassion. The assets tempt us to feel we are really special. Don’t live with a “look at me” attitude.
Getting someone to notice us, whether male or female, has become a driving force in our society. We tattoo our bodies, pierce our bodies, and change our bodies and strive very hard to be noticed. Of course, some of the striving is healthy, such as the desire to stay physically fit but some of it is “over the top”.
The primary question for a Christian is what motivates us. Are we seeking our personal glory or are we trying to live our lives in a manner that brings glory to God, not ourselves. The Bible offers a key insight to the question of why our body exists and what our mission is. Listen:
…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? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19-20 NKJV
Did you ever think of your body as belonging to God, purchased at a price? When you think about that fact, it helps you focus on the responsibility of having our bodies bring honor and glory to God. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. As we move about each day we carry Christ with us into every circumstance.
We are as it says in another verse “the temple of the living God”. Do you feel your body is the temple of the living God? When you present yourself to the world each day, do you feel you are presenting a person that brings glory to God? What decisions might you make about your appearance that “would not glorify God”?
The Bible has some harsh words to say to those who appear to be more focused on gaining personal attention than in glorifying God.
Therefore God also gave them up to… the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. ROMANS 1:24-25 NKJV
James, the brother of Jesus, put it another way: “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? How does God seem to feel if we seek to glorify ourselves? Have you ever thought of God as being jealous? Of what could God be jealous? It is our worship of ourselves, or any other false god, that offends God.
“The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure.” PSALM 101:5 NKJV
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ROMANS 13:13-14 NKJV
“Though the LORD is on high, yet He regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.” PSALM 138:6 NKJV
The next time you feel like glorifying yourself, think about what it is that God expects of you.