Romans 8:6-8 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

The NIV translators bent over backwards to avoid promoting the kind of self-hatred that leads to things like anorexia and self-mutilation, but in the process they made this passage awkward at best, by replacing “flesh” with “sinful nature.” “Political correctness” rarely does anyone any good! Our bodies are not evil in themselves, but we are not to be controlled by our bodies. In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul speaks of our bodies as tents which we inhabit while on earth, and that’s a useful analogy. The difficulty is that our “tents” are alive, and are essentially animals. We shouldn’t leave our thinking to animals! It is an old joke that men do their thinking between their legs, but that joke has its roots in this reality. The good news, which Paul stresses in this whole chapter, is that God has provided His Spirit to help us out. As it says here, the mind and thoughts of the Spirit are life and peace! As an animal being trained has to learn, obedience brings blessings, even when we don’t understand at the moment what we are being required to do. We certainly aren’t to mistreat our bodies, but neither are we to allow our bodies to sit in the driver’s seat of our lives. They don’t have a valid license!

Like everyone else, this is a reality I live with every day. When I give my body priority, I end up frustrated and unproductive. When I keep Christ as my priority, I have energy and peace, and all sorts of good things get done. Stewardship of my body is an important issue. My body needs proper, and not excessive, nutrition, as well as proper exercise and appropriate maintenance. I’m not to be afraid to go to the doctor! However, obsessing over the condition of my body turns my heart away from God just as much as giving into physical lusts. I am to maintain my body so that it will serve me long and well, but it must be my body serving me, rather than me serving my body. That is what Paul is talking about here. If I’m serving my body, rather than just taking care of it, than I’m not serving God. I feel this issue is a stumbling block for many, but I’m not to run around pointing fingers. As Jesus said, I’ve got plenty of issues of my own! (Matthew 7:3-5)

Father, thank You for this reminder. My body can get pretty demanding as I get older! Help me not damage it by presumption or inaction, but keep me from focusing on it either. Help me walk in the health You have for me, with my emphasis on You rather than me, so that Your purposes for me may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!