My body is a temple? Great! Now what do I do?

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.-- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

I firmly believe that one of God's greatest gifts to mankind is the chocolate chip cookie. When it comes to chocolate chip cookies, I subscribe to the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" philosophy of the evil Borg race:

So how am I supposed to live up to the expectations Paul laid out for the people of Corinth when it comes to treating my body as a temple? Well, I suppose I should avoid the temptation of chocolate chip cookies to start, right? (And ice cream ... and french fries ... and maple bars ... and Peanut M&Ms ... and ... )

But what else do I have to do? Avoid drugs, cigarettes and too much alcohol? No problems there.

Watch my weight? Exercise as often as I can? Certainly, though that's easier said than done some days/weeks. (I walked an hour on the treadmill at lunchtime today, but I didn't make it at all last week, and a kind co-worker left a Cadbury creme egg on my desk while I was at the gym. It's calling me from my desk drawer as I type this.)

But what about the more challenging meanings? What about the idea that putting the wrong thoughts in your head also is "defiling the temple"? Now I have to be careful what I watch on TV or at the movies, what I read and what I talk about with others? Not as easy! (Especially since, I'll admit, I'm a fan of many of the dramas on HBO. Not exactly kiddie fare! Maybe as long as I don't act like those people I see on TV, it's OK?)

Christianblog.com says "Defilement is caused from sin, the sin nature, and/or sinful conduct." I can say that I do my best to control most aspects of my "sin nature." But don't we all have something we need to work on? None of us is perfect, living a life completely free from sin, are we? So what do we do?

Thank goodness God gave us another gift: Grace.

I believe that as long as we're upfront with him about our struggles with sin, and pray that he help us with these struggles, he'll give us strength and grace.

Now if only he could give us a chocolate chip cookie that tastes great but has zero calories!