“It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.” (1 Kings 7:1 NIV)
Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. He gained his wisdom from God. Because of his wisdom, he had more wealth than anyone else. His tasks; building God’s temple and his own palace. By the time he finished God’s temple, 7 years passed. The work on his own personal temple took 13 years. Solomon spent almost twice the time building his palace. He spent more time on himself than God.
Because of Jesus, our body is God’s temple:
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;” (1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV)
Taking care of our bodies takes care of God’s temple. We are God’s representative on earth. When we spend time working on ourselves, we’re working on God’s temple. However, we have to check our motives. Are we really going to the gym to tone God’s temple, or are we doing it for ourselves? Am I volunteering all my time at church to make myself look better, or am I truly serving God? Am I walking the walk or just talking the talk? Our heart’s motives determine the temple we’re building.
Our heart’s motives determine the temple we’re building.
When we’re building God’s temple, we’re not exhausted:
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30 NIV)
God’s leading in our lives creates balance. When we seek God before making a commitment, we say yes to what He wants, no to what we want. We don’t overschedule ourselves with “good” activities. We understand our limitations. We realize, we’re not the Savior of the world, Jesus is.
I’m an empath. I feel others pain deeply. When a friend tells me she’s hurting, I hurt. But I had to learn, I can’t fix their issues. I listen to them, I pray for them. I seek God’s guidance on what I’m to do, or not do. And I try, to the best of my ability, to leave them in God’s hands. I understand, He loves them more than I ever can. He knows what’s best for them more than I ever will. He sees the whole picture, I only see in part. When I try to move without Him, I do more harm than good. But we all have a common struggle when following Jesus:
“Our problem following Jesus is we’re trying to be a better version of us instead of a better reflection of Him.” Bob Goff
In other words, we’re spending more time on our temple than God’s.
Question of the Day:
What temple are you spending the most time on?
Further Reading: 1 Kings 7:1-50 NIV, Acts 7:30-50 NIV, Psalm 128:1-6 NIV, Proverbs 16:31-33 NIV
