Very short post today. I originally put this out as a Twitter thread. It doesn't quite rise to the threshold of being published in my Scripture Journals series, but I wanted to repurpose the thread here nonetheless.
It amazes me how much of the short commentary I read on this during my time with the Lord this morning refused to take Paul’s words at face value but opted to extend the spiritual metaphor of the earlier verses instead.
In the preceding verses, Paul spoke metaphorically of running to obtain an eternal prize. Athletes run to obtain a goal, and the Christian life is like a race. Okay, simple enough.
But he’s obviously speaking clearly about his physical body here, teaching us that discipline of the body actually matters.
He even goes so far as to say that if we can’t discipline our bodies, there's a danger of disqualifying ourselves from preaching to others. This fits some of the broader themes of the letter too, such as the body being a temple of the Holy Spirit.
I shouldn’t be surprised, though.
There’s always been a tendency to think that because there is a spiritual realm and because spiritual warfare does exist, the material world doesn’t matter.
WRONG.
Because we’re spiritual, maybe the body doesn’t matter.
We’ve got to repent of this mindset because it's currently spilling over into all other areas of life.
Yes to spiritual health! The body won’t last forever, and our souls matter.
But our bodies are here for a reason. God placed us in a real physical place in a real time and He has expectations for us and for the way we treat our bodies. If none of that maters, then why are we here?
You tell me...