One Sunday morning, a Pastor was preaching on the fact that when we start living for Christ, our bodies are the “temple of the Holy Spirit and belong to God, not ourselves” in (I Corinthians 6:19). So he decided to get creative and use a visual demonstration to add emphasis to his Sunday sermon using “earthworms” to represent living things, like our bodies, that sin can harm.
Four worms were placed into four separate jars.
The first worm was put into a container of Jack Daniel’s whiskey.
The second worm was put into a container of cigarette smoke.
The third worm was put into a container of Hershey’s chocolate syrup.
The fourth worm was put into a container of good clean soil.
At the conclusion of the sermon, the Minister reported the following results:
The first worm in alcohol . . .Dead
The second worm in cigarette smoke . . .Dead .
Third worm in chocolate syrup. . . Dead.
Fourth worm in good clean soil
. . .Alive and Doing Fine!
So the preacher asked the congregation, “What did you learn from this demonstration?”
Suddenly…..Maxine, a sweet little elderly woman, was sitting in the back, quickly raised her hand and said . . .“I know Preacher! As long as you drink, smoke and eat chocolate….you won’t have worms!”
Millions of sincere Americans have made positive New Year resolutions to lose weight, cut back on this or that. According to the latest studies, however, after a couple of months, most people fall back on their regular routines and their resolutions end.
“May I suggest a better idea?”
Begin to view your body as the “living temple of God’s Holy Spirit.” Start to visualize taking the best, most healthy care of God’s Temple, for more than just a New Year’s resolution or vanity, but because God has given you a great gift and He trusts you to respect your body and give Him the most glory by honoring Him with it. His Holy Spirit has literally taken up residence in your body, as a follower of Jesus, just as He promised.
Understand, the Son of God came to us in a human body. Our bodies are sacred, they are not evil. They deserve to be treated with holy respect. Christianity is not just a faith of the soul, but faith of the body. We come to Christ with our minds, hearts…..and bodies. This is how we honor God. Our bodies witness the truth of Christ to an unbelieving world all around us.
The writer Elizabeth Elliot said, “We cannot come to God with our minds and keep our bodies to ourselves.“
David Crews Ph.D. Publications 