“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” – 1 Cor. 6:19-20
Suppose by some means you were enabled to do as you pleased. What would you be pleased to do? Since we are all different the answers would vary, but we all would have a desire for something. I won’t even try to guess what it would be for you, but I suspect something has already come to your mind. Sadly most people would make the same mistake. They would do as they please rather than as they ought. In other words, they would do as they desire instead of that which God demands. That’s human nature and precisely what’s wrong with the world today. Instead of saying “Thy will be done”, they say “My will be done”. Unlike Jesus who said, “I do always those things that please him” (the Father) John 8:29, they say, “I do as I please”.
Every Christian needs to realize, as Paul said, “ye are not your own” ( 1 Cor. 6:19). We have been “bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20), the precious blood of Christ. We don’t have the right to do as we please. We are God’s property. You are obligated to “glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor.6:20). It is for Christ to decide how we should spend our lives. His will is always right, best, and safest. But do you really believe that?
We often fail to realize that God’s way is best in every sense of the word. I don’t mean that it is always fun and easy. God’s will sometimes calls for great sacrifice and suffering. But if we are wise we will do as Moses did, “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;” ( Heb. 11:25). Even better, we would have the attitude of Christ “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross” ( He. 12:2). If our main concern is for the glory of God rather than the gratification of self we will pray, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).
God help us to invest our lives in that which pays eternal dividends. May we never forget our purpose for remaining on the earth. Heaven is better than this, but God left us here to serve Him, not please ourselves. Hopefully we will live in such a way that we can hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” ( Matt. 25:21). That’s a life well spent. That’s life at its best! – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
