Recently, I was researching a nutritional article when I came across this photo of a garbage bag on a plate.
The author was saying that many people complain of weight gain, low energy, mood swings and other negative symptoms when their diet consists of the equivalent of nutritional garbage!
That gets your attention, doesn’t it?
Imagine this: Suppose you owned a property. You’d taken time to fix it up, paint, landscape, make it look really nice. A lady approaches you about renting it. You agree, and she becomes your tenant.
Some months later, you check on the property. But what is this? The yard is overgrown. Trash is strewn all over. When you go inside, the walls are filled with holes and dirty dishes fill the sink. Roaches are crawling everywhere. The tub and toilet looks like they’ve never been cleaned.
The property that you took such care in restoring shows no sign of that now.
Would you say that tenant appreciated your property? No. The word “appreciation” means “to add value.” If the tenant really appreciated the property, she would have at least maintained it.
Not only would her actions have shown appreciation for the property but respect for you.
I believe the mindset of a responsible tenant is really what we should have regarding taking care of our bodies. They are our temporary residence while we are here on earth, and they do not belong to us:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says: “What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own? You were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Although Paul was addressing sexual immorality here, the principle is the same: because our bodies do not belong to us, we must be mindful of what we do to them for the sake of their owner.
We certainly do not want to be found trashing God’s property.
To me, that means:
- Eating foods that make energy. The body doesn’t require just calories for energy; it requires thousands of micronutrients to transform the food we eat into energy and support our health. Pills cannot supply us with all we need.
God bundled them primarily into the fruit and plants he put on this earth for us to eat (see Gen. 1:29).
- Limiting the foods that drain energy. Most processed foods are made with store shelf-life and manufacturer profits in mind, not for benefits to our bodies. Most of these foods take our energy to process but don’t give anything of lasting value back to us.
- Exercising for strength and endurance. I find it difficult to exercise for long if you don’t give your body the proper fuel it needs to power the activity. Once you have your nutrition right, then you will have the energy to need to fulfill other demands in your life well. You’ll have the energy needed to run this race well.
Today, think about the landlord/tenant example. What can you do to be a better tenant in this body that the Lord owns?
The Lord not only gives us guidance for what to do but the power to do it. He is about restoration, not condemnation. He is always available to help us get back on the right track, one step at a time
A good place to start on your weight-loss journey is to take out the trash and replace it with things that will “appreciate” the property. {eoa}
Once 240 pounds and a size 22, Kimberly Taylor can testify of God’s healing power to end binge eating. She is an author and the creator of the Christian weight-loss website takebackyourtemple.com. Visit today for inspirational health and weight-loss tips.
This article originally appeared at takebackyourtemple.com.
Abby Trivett 
James Lasher 
Charisma Staff