Saturday, October 13, 2012

Day 13—Stewards Only, Not Owners, part I

Too bad God didn't give
our bodies wings.

            The world says, "Your body is your body.  It's nobody's business what you do with it or what you put in it."  These ideas will touch your family through both television ads and shows, kids on the playground, and even conversations between adults your children overhear.

            What does the Bible say?

            I Corinthians 6:19, 20—"Do you not know that your body is temple 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 body."

            Romans 12:1-2—"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."

            Nothing is truly our own.  Everything is borrowed—even time, in a way.  This includes our bodies.  Despite people's often careless attitude about caring for our gifts from heaven, God has given mankind direct stewardship over one of His greatest creations:  the human body.  We can express our appreciation by wisely caring for it.  This is especially true for the Christian.

            Your Turn:  What can you do to teach your children this?  Fit it into regular routines and conversation, such as:

            "It's good we have so many good tasting fruits and vegetables.  They are just what our bodies need to be healthy and grow.  Taking good care of our bodies is one way to thank God for giving them to us."

            "Sweet snacks are fine to eat sometimes, but eating a lot of them is not good for our bodies.  If you are still hungry, let's get something that will be just your body needs.  There are plenty of foods that are good for us and fun to eat.  Let's find some."

            With pre-teens and teenagers, conversations about the using—or not using—stimulants (such as nicotine), alcohol, or recreational drugs should definitely include honoring God by respecting the bodies He has given us and how the use of those items would not be good stewardship.  Even though you probably realize that you can never keep this train of thought (I can do whatever I want with my body.) from touching your family at all, you may not realize just how difficult it will be to have your children embrace the truth in the verses above.  Why?  Because as adults, we still try to ignore the fact that we are only stewards of our bodies, not the owners.




            If you would like more ideas on helping your children (and yourself) develop a Biblical worldview or to find out how to win a Wal-Mart gift card, go to the 31 Days Giveaway (Intro. Part II) post for more Touching Families blog links.  If you want to check out other 31 Days' topics, see The Nester.


*All verses quoted are from the New International Version:  THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

1 comment:

  1. Good point. I never thought of this as a reason to eat healthy before.

    ReplyDelete