Key Bible Verse: You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Bonus Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:9-20

Not wanting to leave your house vacant, you ask someone to stay in your home until you return.

The first house sitter redecorates your house, changing white paint to pink, Berber carpet to shag. His justification? "The house didn't express me. I needed a house that communicated who I am."

Your response? "It's not yours! My residence doesn't exist to reflect you! I asked you to take care of the house, not take over the house!"

But you might choose him, over nightmare #2. She didn't redecorate; she neglected. Never washed a dish, made a bed, or took out the trash. "My time here was temporary. I knew you wouldn't mind."

Of course you'd mind!

Both house sitters made the same mistake: They acted as if they owned the dwelling. How could they?

But how could we? When it comes to our bodies, the Bible declares [in today's Key Bible Verse] that we don't own them. Use your body to indulge your passions? To express you opinions? No. "Use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God" (Romans 6:13). Your body is God's instrument, intended for His work and His glory.

—Max Lucado in It's Not About Me

My Response: Which mistake am I more prone to when acting as if I owned my body?

Thought to Apply: We are disgusted by the things that we desire, and we desire what disgusts us.—MARIO CUOMO

Adapted from It's Not About Me (Integrity, 2003) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Lord, cause me to increasingly align my desires with Your good, pleasing, and perfect will.

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