Wisdom for Early Ahjummahdom 2: My Body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit

Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God which you are, is holy. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) 

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19)

Back in youth group days, our counselors would use verses such as these to scare us into not smoking or taking drugs or getting tattoos. Whether or not such actions to our body is sinful is a topic for another time perhaps. The matter at hand is one's body... and its inevitable deterioriation and--dare I say it--death.

Start taking care of your body now, not later, because your body is basically gradually breaking down as you age whether you realize it or not. This is Lesson 2.

What does this have to do with the Holy Spirit? It doesn't... because humans are not the Holy Spirit. We are spiritual but also corporal, and we are not God.

The temple is a physical building. All physical buildings require maintenance and upkeep. The more regularly you maintain, the longer it will last and the easier it is to keep it well-maintained. Aside from the holiness factor, which makes our bodies sacred and therefore demanding respect and dignity on an abstract level, our physical bodies also demand good treatment on a concrete level.

Bearing in mind one's temporality, one's limitedness in body, is humbling, if not humiliating. I think this is important spiritually as well because it reminds me that I am not God. The omnipotence one sometimes feels as a youth is deceptive. While I don't want to curb human abilities too much--we are like God, after all, and made in God's image--ultimately we are not God.

So, for practical and prayerful purposes, one should exercise, eat healthfully, and be conscientious of potential diseases and conditions that can be harmful to our limited but infinitely dignified bodies. And of course gratitude for having a body and the life with it is also in order.