My Body...A Temple?

So I'm sure we've all read the verse in 1 Corinthians 6 that says,

"19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body."

Right? So why is it so hard to actually follow through with this. I realize that Paul was speaking specifically about sexual sin because that is probably the sin the reaps the worse consequences. But what about everything else that pertains to our bodies in which the consequences might not be immediate or even obvious?

For the past few months this battle has taken a forefront in my mind. Many of you know that I have worked hard to get back in shape after Alyssum's arrival, and I've been very happy at my success. I felt strong, beautiful, and better than I had in a long time. And to be completely honest, I had more motivation now because, being a mom, hearing those words, "Wow, you just had a baby?!" made me feel accomplished. I was pushing myself athletically more than I had since I was 8 years old wanting to be the best gymnast ever! But ever since I hurt my knee it has been one thing after another keeping my efforts squashed down. I could barely walk let alone work out. And for some reason the more I sat doing nothing the more I wanted to eat (boredom). Once I got out of that rut (thanks Kathyemma for the motivation and for sticking with me even though I looked like a complete dork with my knee brace), I got the stomach flu and now my low back is in such a spasm that once again, I can barely walk. WHAT THE HECK?!?! I felt defeated.

But God, in His perfect wisdom, reminded me of this verse. What stuck out to me the most was that my body is not my own...wow...heavy. It is a temple of the Holy Spirit. So why is it easier to be "green" with taking care of the Earth, but such a battle to take care of my own body. Is it like taking care of the gardens outside of the temple, yet as soon as you go inside it is thrashed. I mean should it be this hard to say no to more food than I need...to say no to the wrong food? Of course, I don't mean for good, but everything in moderation, right? So why does that excuse always win out...am I really estimating what is a healthy moderate for myself? Am I really practicing self control when I eat just a little something bad-- everyday? And it's even harder when we think that weight is the only consequence...or at least the only consequence that might motivate us to do something.

All of this to say that it is not about what size I am. It's not about whether I still have cellulite or not. Heck, it's not even about me. It's about Him! He has given me a lot of knowledge about how He has created me, therefore, I must be a good steward of it; I must do everything I can to take care of His body so He can use it at it's maximum capacity. My body is for His glory, not mine! What if I choose to be healthy for His sake and not mine? Will that make this battle easier? We shall see!