The Temple (under construction)

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"
I Corinthians 3:16, NIV

Oh, if I had a donut for every time I've heard that.

(Wait a minute...I think I HAVE had a donut for every time I've heard that. Because most of my donut eating has been done at church. Hmm...maybe that's a blog for another time.)

As a kid growing up in the church and Christian school and then after that in semi-weekly Bible studies and fellowship groups populated by kids who struggle with temptations of all kinds, I seriously must have heard that verse quoted a thousand times. Your body is a temple, don't smoke. Your body is a temple, don't drink. Your body is a temple, cover it up. God's living in there, He doesn't want to hear your secular music.

It wasn't until after college that I started hearing "Your body is a temple, don't eat that." At least, in my own brain I heard it, because I haven't heard a lot of sermons on eating. So from time to time, I'd be staring down a donut and hearing "your body is a temple," and I would think, "well, if I were living in someone's house, I would want a donut." And I'd eat it. And then I would feel guilty, because I'd covered God's house in trans fat.

Guilt is not a motivator for me. Rather, the thought process goes something like this: "Well, since I've already blown it, may as well go whole hog and enjoy it..." and Boston Creme is followed by Chocolate Glazed and a promise of a new tomorrow.

So in the past, approaching weight loss as a faith issue, I was only able to see that one angle. The temple angle. And it has never worked.

Here's why: I am not able to take care of this temple on my own. I am a terrible janitor. Have you seen that show where people are up to their eyeballs in stuff - old hockey trophies, toys for kids 20 years younger their own, pizza box collections, every back issue of People Magazine since 1975 - so a professional "organizer" comes in and does some tasmanian devil thing on their house and in 30 minutes it's the cover of a Real Simple magazine? Well, my temple is in need of that kind of professional attention.

I've tried on my own, and I've failed. Many times. I've lived in that cycle of guilt for maintaining an unhealthy temple. And I know that's not what God wants for me - not the guilt, but also not the unhealthy temple. So....where's the balance?