Loving Our BodiesSubtitle

(Over)simplifying the causes:

1. Distrust of the messy, material world of the body.

2. Believing a superior, purer world of spirit can be separated from that messy, material bodily world.

3. 1 & 2 left us relatively defenseless against the 20th century media onslaught that has suggested to us that the body can be redeemed by making it perfect and beautiful.

A Better View

▪ 1. The messy, material world of the body is all part of the beautiful, intricate ecology of Creation. What we take in, what we excrete, what works well and what is occasionally weak and broken (and eventually dies) - is all blessed and it is all good.

▪ 2. There is no separation of spirit and body. We are bodies (and our bodies are earth - dust) with the breath of God's spirit making them alive and unique and glorious. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and should always be treated with love, care, self-discipline and respect.

▪ 3. We are all lovable and socially acceptable and have our place in the community, and this has nothing to do with anyone's standards of bodily attractiveness or lack thereof.

So…. Recommendations

▪ 1. Acknowledge that God created, accepts, affirms, inhabits and blesses our current bodies as is. Period. Without hesitation or pretense.

▪ 2. Grow into being like God: accepting, affirming, inhabiting and blessing our current bodies as is, as well as those of others. We love our neighbour's bodies as we do our own embodied self.

▪ 3. We treat our bodies accordingly - as precious, loved temples of the Holy Spirit. We use our bodies for good work and good rest in a healthy balance. We feed our bodies good, tasty, quality, healthy food and drink in appropriate amounts and with a healthy rhythm of feasting and fasting. We don't abuse our bodies, even for the sake of temporary pleasures by, for example, using them sexually when it doesn't match our spiritual, emotional commitment to someone.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?