Instrument vs. Ornament

Rom.12:² “Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Our final thought from yesterday’s devotional was that we cannot allow the media’s projection of what beauty is define our mentality. We need to look to the spiritual truths of Christ to overcome the media battering of what ‘beautiful’ looks like. On the other hand, we also need to look to the spiritual truths of Christ to be able to pay the price to be in the good shape that God wants us to be in. The spiritual truths of Jesus Christ help us overcome the physical challenge of earthly living. And this spiritual truth is going to be coming your way for the next few days by the grace of God in Jesus Name.

Off the bat, as Christians, we need to understand the purpose of taking care of our bodies. Why is it important? Is it even important to God that we take care of our bodies? Does my body count, does your body count? God is saying to you today that Every Body Counts. Furthermore, as Christians we need to understand that there are two sides to body care that makes it crucial to the God we serve. Body care for us is an issue of worship and discipleship. That is what makes it big for us. When you take care of your body, it is a worship issue, and it is a discipleship issue. It is not a social media issue. It is not an attention getting issue. It is an entirely new paradigm that God want us as believers to have.

We are to treat our bodies as instruments of worship, and not as ornaments to be worshipped. The ornament says, ‘notice me, appreciate me, pay attention to me.’ So, some ladies get depressed when they post a picture on social media and get only two likes, two likes from the two men they do not want to talk to, forty-eight hours after the picture was posted.  The reason is such people are treating their body as an ornament, not as an instrument. We are to treat our bodies as an instrument of worship, not as an ornament to be worshipped. This is big!

Rom.12:¹ “…Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — which is your spiritual worship.” (NIV, paraphrased). Our bodies are instruments of worship and because they are instruments of worship, they need to be taken care of.

Your body needs to be taken care of as an instrument of worship, not as an ornament to be worshipped. The truth is, sometimes, we are not even pleased with our own bodies. Some people do not even like what they see in the mirror and most times, we think that even our spouses are not pleased with our bodies and that puts a lot of pressure on us. That is why sometimes when it is ‘sausage time’, wife is telling husband or vice versa to put off the light. Some others are insisting that it must happen under the covers. If you do not know what ‘sausage time’ is, do not worry. You are fine. People are not proud of their bodies and God cannot be happy with that.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, please empower me to care for my body as an instrument of worship and a vessel of discipleship, and not as an ornament to be worshipped, in Jesus Name. Amen!