If you like my body....

I am so grateful for what I have been given.  I have been given all the tools I need to live my life well.  Today I read a talk (or rather, devotional) given by Jeffrey R. Holland here at BYU in 1989 that explains a lot about the sanctity of our bodies and why we need to keep them pure.

The soul of man is a combination of body and spirit.  One cannot truly function without the other, so we need to keep them both in proper order. We cannot insist on slowly destroying ourselves with late night and unhealthy habits.  Last night I couldn't fall asleep until nearly four o'clock in the morning!  Today I have been sluggish and not nearly as responsive to the Spirit as I should have been.  In essence, there was a bit of separation between my body and my spirit, they could not easily communicate, like trying to talk to someone through a wall.

This is what the adversary wants.  He was never blessed with a body.  He can never experience any of the things we forget about because they become commonplace.  He doesn't know what it is to yawn, how fun it can be to sneeze, or how hilarious a high five gone wrong can be to watch.  He is so jealous of us!  He is angry and frustrated that he is missing out on these experiences.  This is why he gets us to do these terrible things to ourselves and each other.  He loves to see us unbalanced, unsteady, it validates his efforts.  If he can trip us up, we are more likely to make other mistakes, things that will damage our spirit as well, and widen the cracks this forms in our soul.

The Lord has given us stewardship over our bodies.  This means they are on loan, in a way.  We are watching after them in a way, until He returns to take charge once again.  This makes me think of the Parable of the Talents.  The Lord left talents with certain of His servants, giving them stewardship of them while He was gone.  The first two men took great care of their charges, even increasing them. The third did not, he buried it in the ground, it's potential was never realized.  When the Lord returned he took the talents from His servants.  Then He returned the talents to the first two men, plus an increase because of their faithfulness.  He did not return the talent to the third man.  This is akin to what God has done to our bodies.  He gave them to us for a time, until we die and He takes them back.  If we have taken good care of ourselves, kept our souls intact, He will return them to us even better than before.  If we have not cared for our souls and tended them well, then we will lose the glory that we originally had with no chance to improve our condition.

Thankfully, we have the chance to repent for any nicks or damage our souls experience.  The Atonement is all encompassing.  This includes what things we do to our bodies that we shouldn't.  This includes the Word of Wisdom, sexual transgression, and even not using them to their full potential.  This is amazing to me.  Christ was sent to redeem our souls, this includes our bodies!  I won't lie, I have not been the best steward of my body during my lifetime, but the opportunity I have to correct my mistakes is such a girft that I cannot even accurately describe the joy this gives me.

It's time to recommit to my life.  The Lord is not going to wait up for me.