Never Missing A Beat
You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:12-13
“Cleanliness is next to Godliness,” said my father at the dinner table. He was one who rarely left out of the house without taking a shower. The lone exception I can remember was when the bus never came to take me to school, and he drove me in his pajamas and robe to school. Now keep in mind it had to be an exceptional event because if I was late getting out of the house, the kid (aka me) was on his own. Outside of that memory, he never missed a beat. To add to how much an exception that was, my Dad was always sharply dressed going out. Now this is not to say that clothes determine whether you are honoring God, and one can certainly be a Godly man in shorts and a t-shirt. But there was something about my father where it was a part of what God instilled in Him, and that was why I admired him so much. It was a degree of self-esteem and in a way honoring God by making the effort to ensure he looked and smelled good all the time. It sounded silly when I thought about it, but you see, my Dad always presented himself at his best. When I thought about it, doesn’t God want the best from all of us? Yes, He wants our hearts, but He also wants us to give our all to Him. Again, Dad never missed a beat.
A prime example of God wanting our best efforts was Peter. When Jesus first came to him, he could not catch a thing. But Peter said, ““Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.” (Luke 5:5-7) Peter had given all that day toward fishing, but because Jesus simply told him to go, he made the extra effort. In that story, I saw a bit more clearly why my father was the way he was. I’m sure there were mornings he went, “Well, I showered twice yesterday, and thus, I can take a day off.” Yet again, he never missed a beat.
We should be conscious of God in all our actions. When I read this verse, it was clear Paul was pointing out how bad sexual immorality is. That is pretty cut and dry, but reading deeper into these verse speaks about how “the Lord cares about our bodies.” The thought came to mind that caring for our bodies speaks much more about our love for God than just simply good hygiene. It speaks to honoring God beyond what our whims or moods might be. Yes, it can be explicit as immorality, but it can also mean how we treat ourselves. Jesus, when speaking of the Greatest Commandment, said, “A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 20:39) It is important to remember that the greater love one has for self, the greater capacity one has to love their neighbor. We are a few weeks before I get to love on a broader scope, but the key here is to focus on how love for others begins first with love for self. This all aligns with God’s expectations for us. Showing respect for the treatment of our bodies is an act of honoring God. Thus, we must always have a greater awareness of God and how our treatment reflects His purpose. To be clear, this is not to say that anyone who cannot take a shower does not reflect God. What it does say is that our personal relationship with Christ should reflect one that honors Him even in the simplest acts of our appearance.
Submitting to God is hard. We must always fight against our own wants and things like judging others and loving those who we may not even like. We might get some of the big things right, but as I can attest to, it only takes a couple of missteps to lead us down a dark pathway. There is a reason Jesus said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.” (Matthew 7:13) Let us focus on finding a pathway where we are conscious of God in everything we do. How can you have greater focus on God today? What practices can you put in place to ensure that is in your thought process? My prayer is that whether it is fishing, dressing, or showering, our focus on God never misses a beat. Amen.