God’s Temple or My Palace?

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 6:1-7:1

1 Kings 7:1 NLT “Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction.”

God gave Solomon very specific and detailed instructions for building His temple. The temple where God would come and dwell among His people had to be exactly right. Today, our bodies are the temples where God dwells among His people, and they have already been built to exact specifications. God has already taken care of building His temple. He created our bodies perfectly. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Our job is to maintain the temple that God has built.

Sometimes I get carried away with getting the latest fitness information. Okay, I admit sometimes I get obsessed with reading and experimenting with the latest scientific research regarding how to best take care of my body. After all, it is the temple of the Holy Spirit, right? But, considering God has already taken care of the details, how scientific do I really need to be? Is it possible that my obsession with fitness could keep me from doing the very things that God wants me to be fit enough to do?

Solomon took 7 years to build the Temple. He took 13 years to build his own palace. Yes, exercise is one of the ways God intends for us to maintain the temple that He has created. But when we spend an excessive amount of time and energy learning about exercise, studying the benefits of exercise, planning how to exercise and actually exercising, could it be that we are really building our own palaces?