Our bodies

I sometimes wonder if we're not in for an unpleasant surprise when we finally find out what God really intended. We tend to think that the sins we commit against our own bodies are significant only to us. Is that really true?
We're all familiar with Paul's caution that our bodies are God's temple (1Cor 3:16-17) "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."

This passage can rightly be understood as a prohibition against taking human life -- we are not to physically destroy another person. But if we accept that, doesn't logic suggest that we are also prohibited from physically harming ourselves?

I hate to floss; I've had to have my roots scraped once already, and now I have to make several trips to the periodontist every year or I risk losing my teeth. Even so, I don't floss every day; sometimes I don't floss for a whole week. I know I need to, but I'm only hurting myself, right?

I have this uneasy feeling that the answer to that is, no, you're wrong.

For one thing, God created me in His image, so that I can reveal something about Him and can reflect glory back to Him. I can't just let my body decay because I'm lazy. The human body God designed is an amazing, beautiful thing, pleasant to look at and wonderful in the complex and arduous things it can accomplish.

The bodies we too often live in are closer to the derelict houses we see abandoned on old farms than temples of the one true God. That has to be wrong somehow. What do I reveal about God and how much glory goes to Him if all the teeth fall out of my head?

As with most of Paul's teachings, in addition to the impact on our relationship with God, there are implications for our relationship with others too. There's extra work and extra cost imposed on our families and our whole society when our bodies fail too young. That's a point that doesn't need belaboring, but it should be mentioned. The goal is good health, not vanity or worldly standards of beauty.

The most important thing, though, is that Paul says our bodies, like our minds and spirits, are holy, that is, they have been set aside for God's service. We owe our bodies the same care we take for our souls. Or rather, we owe it to God to give our bodies that care.