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Key Bible Verse: I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. (1 Corinthians 9:27) Dig Deeper: Proverbs 25:16, 27-28

For me, a diet held little interest. Most people come to realize that diets can be enormously successful in the short term, but over the course of a couple of years, they almost always fail; for the most part, people gain back the weight they lose. You often see this when celebrities—even celebrity Christians—succeed in losing weight, write a book about their breakthrough, and then, two or three years later, look just like their pre-diet selves. Besides, most dieting books ask, "What does my body need?" While it is an entirely appropriate question, an even better one is: "What eating habits are healthiest for my soul?"

We need a new relationship with food altogether, seeing it as an aspect of life but not the reason for life. While food ultimately is fuel for our physical vessel, it is also something we accept as a pleasurable and good gift from God. There is evidence of his care for us in that his provision of food goes beyond necessity to include aspects of his generosity and kindness. But we need to remember that our use of food is something that, due to our sinful nature, can imprison us, assault us, and take years off our lives.

—Gary Thomas in Every Body Matters

My Response: What is my relationship to food and exercise? I will try to answer Gary's question, "What eating habits are healthiest for my soul?"

Thought to Apply: The human body is the best picture of the human soul.—Ludwig Wittgenstein (Austrian philosopher)

Adapted from Every Body Matters (Zondervan, 2011) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.

Copyright © 2013 by Christianity Today/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Creator, help me to honor you in the way I take care of my body as an act of worship to you.

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