Observation: Paul goes into a discussion here about the human body being the Lord's temple on earth, and yet the body is not to be particularly cherished because we have a better, perfected self awaiting in heaven. He calls our earthly body a 'tent' that we live in, but the version of our body in heaven is our true home. We take care of this earthly body yet we still groan with aches and needs, but the one in heaven will be perfected.
He concludes this with a verse (v7) that is often quoted but clearly done so out of context ... "we live by faith, not by sight." It is clear from what immediately precedes this that Paul is talking about the human body. He is actually stating that, we do not live for the visual appearance of our bodies ... we especially do not live in order to make our bodies beautiful and perfect and appealing and pleasing to look at ... we live for Jesus and by faith we will get a perfected body later.
Application: My wife and I had a conversation three days ago about a friend who has begun a health kick. At first it was about losing weight ... a good and noble quest, and one I actually am in desperate need to pursue myself. However, we are worried that, for our friend, it has become an image obsession. It's gone from working out, to upending his daily routines by altering his personal meal practices at the expense of time with his wife, to losing out on other time as he prioritizes gym attendance with one specific trainer over all other activities, to now spending new money on skin care products and spa treatments. Individually, these are things people do. Collectively, this looks like a man who is now prioritizing and paying special attention to his body in a manner that goes beyond worldly health and drifts toward appearance obsession. It is worrisome in our friend.
This is common, I feel, for many who do not have Jesus in their lives, and thus spend significant time focused on 'beauty' (maybe not causation, but correlation?). They may think they do so for health purposes, but they also do so for everything else that comes with it ... pride in self and worldly attention from others being prominent. They want their earthly bodies to appeal to earthly sensibilities, and dedicate time to it that could have been spent in other ways.
I am not saying beauty is wrong, and I'm not saying I believe that taking care of one's health is wrong in any way. I am saying that turning one's body into a place that we want to beautify almost in the same way one would invest in art and style to beautify their home ... well ... "as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord." We are not designed to turn our earthly body into a beautiful home. We are designed to care for our earthly bodies as a tent we live in for years, and thus it needs TLC and attention and mending and proper management, and we do that because we aren't proud in this body, knowing our perfect body will be given us in heaven.
Prayer: Lord, as I consider this somewhat trivial yet complex topic, I pray for those who make their bodies a focus in their lives. May we all find your balance in how we care for ourselves here on earth. I myself would like to spend more time so I can be healthier in weight and strength and thus spend my older years in good health with my wife. I know I need to take better care of my tent. I feel like the balance is at the line between health and beautification. However, I do not know the truth, and I ask only for your guidance in this matter for all, including me. Amen.
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