Goldfish in the Morgue Devotional
Siege of the Temple
Day 12 - Siege of the Temple
Scripture Passage: 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Focal Verses: Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. ~ 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NASB 95)
Out of all the horrible things I see on a near-daily basis with my job, the most scarring and traumatic are always those cases where someone intentionally brings violence against a living being. Whether its homicide (a person taking the life of another person intentionally) or accident (a tragic failure to yield the right-of-way on the road, resulting in someone’s death), or suicide, the intentional taking of one’s own life by his or her own hand.
Humans have always been destructive. We’ve always been violent. One of the big reasons God destroyed the earth with a global flood (described in Genesis 6) was due to humanity’s violent ways. We’ve just never seen much value in human life. And as much as it pains me to say, we haven’t gotten any better in modern times. In fact, just looking at the evening news, one can’t help wonder if we’ve gotten far worse than even before the Flood. Wars, violence against political opponents, violence against those we disagree with, violence against spouses, violence of parents to their children and children to their parents. Violence against the unborn. No matter how hopeful humanists might be in regards to the advancements of civilization, we seem more akin today to the world of Conan the Barbarian than to the enlightened worlds of Star Trek’s Federation of Planets.
And violence against our fellow man isn’t even the most common aspects of our destructive ways. In forensic death investigations, you learn something real quick in the job and that is humans aren’t just destructive…they’re self-destructive. The cold hard fact is that humanity is miserable. We are self-loathing. And we are empty inside. Without hope. We’re born this way and we strive throughout our lives to fill that emptiness with…something. Anything. Whatever it takes to give us some sort of relief from the reality of the void within each of us. That’s why children and adults alike turn to an assortment of things that are damaging to not only their bodies, but their minds and spirits as well. It’s why gender dysphoria has not only grown to acceptance and encouragement, but also is pushed in our schools. It’s why we congratulate children who desire to mutilate their bodies in the name of trans freedom. It’s why abortion clinics have become modernized Temples to Moloch—revered and protected by those who use sex and sexuality as a means to sate their emptiness at all costs. It’s why so many people turn to drugs. In doing so, a drug user will eventually end up dead…whether its quick or slow. Drugs kill. Everyone knows it. And yet, their sale and distribution has never been more profitable. So profitable, in fact, that a war between China and the United States—and possibly a world war—is a distinct possibility due to Fentanyl infiltrating our streets by way of Chinese imports.
Our entire society is geared toward the desecration and destruction of our bodies. Human bodies. Bodies made in the image of the Most High God. Humanity’s desire to destroy humanity seems, on the surface, motivated by a loathing of God and everything He represents. In reality, it stems from a deep loathing of itself. Of the emptiness each of us have within us at birth. It’s all rather understandable if you view it from the perspective of hopelessness that humans carry with them through their lives.
What’s not understandable, however, is the fact that many Christians maintain the same self-destructive ways as the rest of the world. Many are addicted to sex, porn, and drugs…the same as the unsaved. Many struggle with depression and anxiety, ultimately giving in and ending their own lives. And those are just the biggies. We often forget about the far less obvious ways Believers try to damage themselves. We eat horrible foods and become obese, allowing a multitude of diseases to play havoc with our lives. We binge television shows not fit for godly eyes while stuffing our faces with Cheetos on a recliner. We smoke cigarettes or vape or use smokeless tobacco knowing full well the damage we are causing to our bodies.
In today’s passage, Paul wants to remind the Corinthians (and us) that such self-destructive acts are displeasing to God. Why? Because our bodies are no longer ours! Our bodies have been consecrated and dedicated as living, breathing, walking Temples of the Most High. How should we treat such a Temple? Should we treat it like an old crumbling ruin that sits atop a cursed and haunted hill. Or do we lovingly maintain it? Do we keep it clean and sanctified for worshipping and serving the Creator of the Universe? We as believers are no longer without hope. We are no longer empty inside, for we have the Holy Spirit residing within us…filling that void we were born with from the start. There is nothing to loathe about us any longer. Nothing to despise. We are whole. We are pleasing to the One who redeemed us. Let’s not live like the rest of the world and follow a course of bodily destruction, but dedicate our bodies to God in everything we do.
Father God, thank you for cleansing and sanctifying our bodies. Thank you, LORD, for taking up residence within each of your Children. Help us to prayerfully and joyfully maintain the Temple in which your Spirit resides. Give us strength to overcome old harmful impulses and consecrate our lives into your service as priests to your holy Temple.