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“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20  We all know the popular cliché, “you are what you eat.” Most people hear that and think food. Unfortunately, we live in a culture that thrives off of junk food and industries making money off of supersized burgers and Sour Patch Kids cereal (yes, that’s a thing, I freaked out, too, when I saw it on the shelves). For the most part, we know that when we choose to eat junk food, we won’t feel good. Our organs start to fail, endurance decreases and energy will start to trickle away until we are left feeling drained and empty. Bad fuel = a car that won’t start. When I hear that phrase, I also think of it in the spiritual context, “you are what you spiritually eat.” If you choose to consume negativity, hours of Netflix and comparison traps on Instagram, the same thing happens. Our hearts grow weary, energy to trust God declines and our endurance to hold on to hope start to trickle away. We are left feeling drained, again, but this time of good spiritual food. These two areas of wellness are so tied together, a package deal really. You cannot have one without the other. In the bible, an analogy is given that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and we are to honor God with our bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NIV). Scripture doesn’t just say our bodies are temples, but they are temples OF the Holy Spirit, meaning we hold God inside of us each day. We are chosen to carry the Holy Spirit each day, so what happens if we aren’t feeding our souls in the right way? Scripture goes on to say our bodies are not our own, that we were bought at a price, and so we are to honor God with our bodies. I read that and realize that when we don’t take care of our physical body, we are refusing to value something that is God’s possession. When we choose to not take care of it, we are choosing to not take care of something that belongs to God. Throughout history, temples have always been built with purpose and created to be a place of beauty where people can come to worship. Temples should be well taken care of, as they are a dwelling place for God to move. What if we saw our earthly bodies in the same lens? What if we consistently valued our body enough to give it the proper nutritional fuel and care it deserved? God pulled back the curtain on this concept of physical and spiritual wellness about 4 years ago during graduate school. My life in grad school looked something like a juggler at a circus. Dozens of colored balls traveling in a circle, labeled as “straight A’s, volunteer, work, student teach, relationships, sleep, time with God, physical health.” Unfortunately, the “time with God” and “physical health” balls often bounced right out of my juggling routine. I am not sure when the switch happened, but at some point I realized that I would not be successful post-grad if I didn’t get my physical health and spiritual walk in check. I felt like God was pushing me towards complete obedience in wellness. While I wasn’t totally sure what that was going to look like, I knew that I need to make room for God to show me how to properly take care of my physical body and make room for him to speak to me about what it meant to live deeply with Him each day. Let me be clear in saying this was not an overnight transformation. Even 4 years later, this blend of physical and spiritual wellness is still something that I have to often submit back to the Lord to ensure I am still walking in obedience. However, that idea of “you are what you eat” could not be more accurate. I work as a health coach now (in addition to teaching) and my main focus is ensuring my clients can learn the importance of prioritizing those areas of wellness to see maximum progress. When we eat well and exercise every day, the brain functions better, metabolism and organs work efficiently, we have more energy and we are actively reducing our risk of chronic diseases. When we spiritually eat well, I believe we reap similar benefits: greater brain functioning reaps greater discernment, increased physical endurance leads to increased spiritual endurance for hardships, and heightened energy for our day-to-day activities heightens greater energy in believing God is working victories in our life. When our body is well, our soul is also well, too. I want to leave you with a few healthy habits that I have implemented over the years that keep my temple physically and spiritually well each day.
Remember, God has IMMENSE GRACE for us. There is not an expectation to have perfect nutrition and never watch Netflix again. There is power in conviction for areas of your life that aren’t being fed in the right way, so take it just as that. God doesn’t want you to make room for condemnation, just room for you to treat your temple well and place God at the middle of your health so you can reap an amazing harvest. Written by: Tori Fantasia, Health & PE Teacher, Wellness Coach Song: Make Room by Jonathan McReynolds Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
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January 2021
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