Temple or Den of Thieves?

I've have something on my mind. Most of the time I focus on God's love and forgiveness. But I want to tackle a subject that may suprise some of my close friends. I think you will find that this does have to do with God's love... God's most precious gift that He has bestowed upon us when we are young adults, a gift that we are often too quick to discard.

Friends, Jesus says that our bodies are temples. A lot of my good Christian brothers and sisters think this is about tattoos. But I think it has something far more to do with what goes on inside the temple. When Jesus cleanses the temple, he is angry because His Father’s house was turned into a den of thieves. Who dwells in your house, the Holy Spirit? Or Thieves?

"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”
Matthew 7:6

How are you treating your body? Do you treat it like a valuable gift from God? Like fine pearls? Or do you throw it away? Do you treat yourself like you are special, something to be treasured? Or do you give yourself away in order to find acceptance?
How are you feeding your special inner self? Are you building yourself up on a steady diet of the Word, good Christian fellowship, time with friends and family? Or are you feeding your inner being with the word’s trash? Do you fill your insides with a steady diet of porn? Do you feast on the vulgarities that the modern world deems as cool?

I can’t make you love and respect yourself. I cannot walk with you every moment of your lives, especially those of you who have left for college and careers. I can point you towards the words of our Personal Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Don’t throw it away. Value your sexuality. It is a gift from God that can make you happy in ways that only God can imagine. But it can also be just like a drug. It will drag you down a long winding road of destruction. And you will wake up one day empty, broken, alone and when you look at your heart you won’t find the Spirit… you will only see the mess left behind from a den of thieves.

Respect yourself and what God has given you. Don’t throw it away.