In his book ReWard
Yourself, poet, author, and oft-quoted columnist William Ward tells the
story of a boy named Tommy who moved the turkey eggs.
When
little Tommy’s mother missed the eggs from under the turkey hen, she asked him
if he knew where they could be.
“I
put them in the dog house,” answered Tommy.
“We want puppies, not turkeys.”
Have
you ever put turkey eggs in the dog house?
That’s
what we’re doing when we abuse our bodies with improper nutrition, intemperate
habits, irregular hours and inadequate exercise . . . and expect them to
perform pain-free, properly and persistently.
We’re
putting turkey eggs in the dog house when we habitually neglect our prayer
life, forget our quiet times and expect to grow spiritually and attain peace of
mind.
We’re
putting turkey eggs in the dog house when we fail to set goals and expect to
achieve success in our endeavors.
We’re
putting turkey eggs in the dog house when we practice selfishness and expect to
experience happiness.
We
can’t hatch puppies from turkey eggs!
(92)
To Tommy’s
dismay, he discovered that turkey eggs do not produce puppies. While Tommy desperately desired to see
puppies appear, he looked to the wrong source.
Today we
continue in our preparation. We need to
prepare ourselves emotionally, spiritually and intellectually
as we discussed over the past three weeks.
However, if we stop here, we will stop short. For centuries, men and women have stopped
short by leaving off the fourth and equally important area of life, namely the physical
area. I will provide for you some
sophisticated sounding “isms” that label the actions of neglecting the physical
area. They are extreme opposites.
1) Gnosticism
– this philosophy or movement started in early Christianity. Erroneously, those who held to Gnostic views
saw all matter and flesh as evil.
Therefore, they concluded that the highest good was accomplished through
knowledge and enlightenment.
2) Hedonism
– this philosophy represents the opposite extreme. Hedonists see pleasure as the highest
good.
As it applies
to the physical, Gnostics reject its importance and direct their focus most
exclusively on spiritual and intellectual development; while Hedonists worship
the physical and find little, if any, value of emotional, spiritual or
intellectual development. It benefits
you to know the names of these “isms,” but knowing and embracing the biblical
view of the proper use of the physical is far more important. Stopping short with only three life areas
will not work. Don’t attempt it.
Attempting to
live life as God purposed for you to do by ignoring the physical or worshiping
the physical is like expecting puppies from turkey eggs. Read Ward again, “We can’t hatch puppies from
turkey eggs!”
In order to
explore the biblical view of God’s purpose for the physical life area, I want
to draw your attention to two key passages:
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh
is weak.” Matthew 26:41 (NIV)
11 In the
same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore
do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil
desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to
sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as
those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of
yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For
sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but
under grace.
15 What
then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no
means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer
yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you
obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to
obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But
thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have
come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed
your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and
have become slaves to righteousness.
19 I am
using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations.
Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to
ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading
to holiness. Romans 6:11-14, 19 (NIV)
Using the
verses we just read, I see two actions that God calls each believer to take in
his/her quest to honor God with the physical.
Two Actions
for Physical Readiness:
1) Concede Your Weakness – (Matthew 26)
In His hour of
most need, Peter, James, and John failed Jesus.
Jesus knew that Judas would lead the soldiers to arrest Him. With that knowledge, Jesus asked His closest
disciples to keep watch so that He could spend that limited yet crucial time in
communion with His Father; He was sorrowful and troubled so He needed His
“Papa,” the One He called “Abba.” In
that moment of most need, the three most trusted out of the 12 failed their
Lord.
Why did they
fail? Jesus provided the answer: “The spirit
is willing, but the body is weak.”
In this life,
Jesus calls you to keep watch. If
you do as He commands, you are His disciple.
As His disciple, He calls you to stay alert as you serve Him. Far too many believers attempt to serve God
without conceding their physical weakness.
Their pride becomes their fall . . .
(1) Husbands and wives who said they never would, divorce.
(2) Pastors who said they never would, cheat on
their spouses.
(3) Business owners who said they never would, give in to
corrupt practices for financial gain.
(4) Dating couples who said they would wait, give their
bodies to one another before they give their vows to one another.
(5) Honest citizens who said they never would, cut corners
on their taxes.
What did you do that you said, maybe even swore, you would never do?
In his gospel, Luke tells the same story as
Matthew about the disciples falling asleep.
He also includes a detail Matthew does not mention. He tells us that the disciples failed Jesus
by falling asleep because they were “exhausted
from sorrow.”
Was it sorrow
that caused your fall?
Was it greed,
pride, anger, hurt . . .?
No matter the
cause, Jesus provides the answer.
Concede, admit, your weakness.
Conceding will enable you to do as Jesus also commands, “Watch and pray.”
The reason He
gives for our watching and praying is so that we will not fall into
temptation. Does that sound familiar?
“And lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:13 (NIV)
Take note: even Jesus conceded weakness!
Then he said to them, “My soul is
overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Matthew
26:38 (NIV)
2) Commit Your Body – (Romans 6)
Christ does not
belong in your heart and head alone.
How do you use
your hands? To shake? To hit?
To present vulgar signs?
Your lips? To speak kind words? To bless a friend? Or, as Judas, to betray a friend
with a kiss?
Your eyes?
To look at the beauty of the place you
live? To read the Word? Or to view vulgarity?
Your ears?
Your feet?
Your intimate
parts?
Do you destroy
or build with the parts of your body?
Notice the word
“slavery” in verse 19.
You and I are
called to serve as slaves and to serve willingly. The difference between those who serve righteousness
and those who serve wickedness is determined by choices we make. When God calls, He calls each one of us to
switch masters. Back in verses 12 and
14, we saw the terms “reign” and “your master” respectively. We need to reject the reign (or rule)
and mastery of sin over our physical lives and embrace the loving
reign and mastery of Christ over our physical lives.
As you prepare
to live in the power of Christ’s resurrection, you will need to prepare
yourself emotionally, spiritually, intellectually and physically. Please do not try the first three without
commitment to the fourth. You can answer
the call to serve God with all of your being.
“You are not your own; you were bought
at a price. Therefore honor God with
your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19b-20 (1984 NIV)
For further reading:
Ward, William. ReWard Yourself. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1986.
