Body Of Respect

“Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” (1Co 6:18 AV)

 

For context's sake, the issue at hand is a young man was taking up with his stepmother.  The issue of fornication here is two people who were not allowed to be married are now living together.  The phrase that has been mulling over in my mind is that last phrase.  Those that commit fornication sin against their own bodies.  What has puzzled me is the relationship above would be natural if they were not related and were married.  Not the act itself.  So, one wonders how fornication can be a sin against one’s own body, and does this principle relate to other applications as well?  Is it sinning against one’s own body manifested by other behaviors and what does that look like?  To use another term, is sinning against one’s own body a desecration of the body?  Can they be considered the same?  Of so, is there a certain level of respect that should be shown towards the flesh because of the hand that created it?  Then my thoughts went to other examples.

My mind went to majestic animals which quickly come to mind.  A lion with a large mane or a show horse is what popped into my mind.  My wife and I live only a mile from the Wisconsin state fairgrounds.  We work a booth at the fair handing out gospel tracts and sharing the love of Christ with those who stop by.  When our shift is over, we like to visit a few venues.  Much of the expo center is filled with people hawking their wares.  We spend a little bit of time there.  But the one place I like to go to the most is the stockade.  We love to go to horse shows.  I have seen rodeos.  I have seen themed shows with horses like the ones offered at places like Midevil Days.  But there is something different when the most perfect of specimens are judged.  These animals carry themselves with an air of majesty other horses do not.  They know there are above average.  They play to the cheering crowds.  They are pampered and brushed even amid judging.  They are oiled down so their coat glistens.  These animals are something to behold.  When they are shown, certain activities would come naturally to a horse that is forbidden while they are judged.  This activity, although quite natural, would make the animal seem more common or ordinary.  Show horse would not pull a plow.  But a quarter horse is a majestic horse when pulling a stump out of the ground.  The point is, God created His creature with a certain expectation of majesty.  He has designed them to function in the manner in which He has determined.  To do otherwise would desecrate the purpose for which they came into being.

When we talk of fornication, piercings for the dead, dressing immodestly, poor diet, or any host of things we might do or allow which compromises the majesty which God intended for the human body, we desecrate it.  This is what Paul is referring to.  Intimacy has always been reserved for those who are legitimately married.  Fornication is any physical intimacy outside of the confines of marriage.  To indulge in such would me we are treating the body with less respect than God would permit.  As stated above, this is not limited to intimacy.  This extends to any activity that affects the body.  In the medical world, there is another term used.  We would call this human dignity.  There is a dignity reserved for the human body that should not be violated.  Mankind was not meant to live like the animal kingdom no matter what secular science thinks.  For the saint, this principle extends to what we wear, what we eat, how well we take care of ourselves, and the activities we indulge in.  We have a responsibility to the shell God has given.  It needs to be treated with dignity and respect.