“They assembled their brothers, consecrated themselves, and went in to cleanse the house of the Lord, according to the commandment of the king by the words of the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 29:15

It’s February and for this month I’m doing a “best of” series to allow time for me to update the website, get ahead on some writing and spend some time on my soul.  In a sense these plans are a type of resolution.  By now some people are still pressing on with New Year’s resolutions, some are faltering, and still others have given up.  Resolutions vary widely but common ones are getting organized, taking better care of their bodies, overcoming bad habits and seeking better attitudes in the New Year.  Some are successful while others are not.  The difference is diligence and fortitude.

When I originally wrote this in 2016, I recounted a conversation with my pastor in which I mentioned that I was about 21 months into a one year plan to read through the bible and how we laughed at the irony of my statement, but the sad truth is that this was a 2014 resolution and I’m still not finished…ugh.  As I edit this post in 2018, I’m stuck in Ezekiel.  While a case could be made that I have truly read much more in that time frame, the chronological plan hasn’t been completed.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed Kings and Chronicles.  One of the stories that caught my attention was Hezekiah’s role in Judah.  When Hezekiah became king of Judah, his desire to serve God led him to clean out the temple.  The kings of Judah varied in their spiritual walk.  One of the reasons was that they married for the purposes of political alliance rather godliness.  With those marriages, various forms of idolatry were introduced.  At their best, the kings may have been righteous, but not “wholly devoted” to God.  Therefore, while they sought to do what was right in the sight of God, they still allowed the negative influences to infect their households and, consequently, a godly king was often followed by a son that was idolatrous.  Over time, the temple fell into disrepair and worse, the vessels intended to be used in the worship of God were moved out and or used for idolatry.  Further, idols were moved into the temple.  At the command of Hezekiah, the temple was cleaned out and repaired.

In 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us that we are the temple of God.  Sadly, like the nation of Judah, it’s easy for us to become distracted and allow idols into our lives.  Illness takes a lot of energy to manage.  It often becomes the primary focus of our lives and easily becomes our identity.  Then the idols begin to move in: a diagnosis, a new doctor, a new drug or treatment plan or complete healing to name a few.  While the pursuit of these things is not wrong, allowing our hope in them to take precedence while permitting our hope in God to wane is setting them up as idols.  Other trials offer different idols but have the same effect when allowed to follow the natural human course unchecked.  Even when things are going well, we often allow our careers, pursuit of pleasure or other normal activities to become idols.  If that isn’t enough, anger, bitterness and frustration often settle in and take root as things don’t go the way we think they should.  Further, in our distraction, we let our spiritual armor as described in Ephesians 6 sit in the corner collecting dust and rust leaving us without the protection needed to ward off attack.  In short, we allow our temples to fall into disrepair.

As I write this, my own life is recovering from turmoil.  I have allowed illness, obligation and personal attack to distract me and inhibit my walk with the Lord.  Rather than fighting my symptoms to spend quality time with God, I’ve regularly taken the easy path of not making the effort.  Consequently, as pressures in life have mounted, I have not trusted in God’s sovereignty and perfect plan as I should and not employed the defenses that He provides.  This has caused me to become immobile and ineffective.  In other words, I have allowed my temple (mind, body and soul) to fall into disrepair and worse, I have installed worldly idols that need to be removed.  Less figuratively, I have allowed sin to take root by not being diligent in protecting my soul.  I can see the damage and it’s time to clean things up.

Culturally we’re taught that illness or other significant life crises give us a temporary stay from moral or godly obligations, however, the bible does not.  We as Christians are called to be wholeheartedly devoted to God.  We are to trust Him in every circumstance and seek to be His witnesses.  We can’t do that if our temple is in disrepair or full of idols.  So it’s time to take a look at our temples.  If you are maintaining your soul and body in a godly fashion, praise God.  Keep up the good work.   If not, it’s time to reflect and evaluate.  Are you diligent in spending time with God and maintaining your soul? Is your heart wholly devoted to Him?  Are you doing the things within your control to care for your body?  Has bitterness, anger, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, coveting, sexual sin or any other bad behavior(s) been allowed to take root?  If, like me, there is work to be done, seek out the resources and people to help you and hold you accountable.  With a bit of diligence and the strength of the Holy Spirit, we can be restored to a place of peace and joy or as David put it: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.”  Psalm 51:12.

Set your minds on things above rather than on earthly things.

Will