There's Got to Be Something More, Right?

A while back, my mom came up to visit for the weekend.

My parents don't get the chance to come up very often because they farm.

Farming takes up a good 9 months out of the year where you're really busy.

So when they randomly come up, I don't take it for granted.

My mom came by herself and we just had a weekend to do whatever we wanted. 

It was a lot of fun!

We had great conversation...especially about health.

One particular conversation stuck out to me, and to this day, I still think about it a lot.

One might ask why I decided to make the choice of eating healthier 

or why I started to work out.

And when you get past the shallowness of the answer, "To lose weight," there's still something so much deeper.

(**I'm not saying that the purpose losing weight is shallow...I'm only comparing it to my thoughts on this topic.**)

When I was younger and attending Sunday School at my church, I remember so many times reading these verses:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body."

Romans 12:1

"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship."

Romans 6:13

"Do not offer parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness."

After reading those, I always had questions.  What does it mean to offer your body in worship?  I know that I can sing songs in worship, give my offering as worship...but what else?  My body is a temple, so treat it as such.  Don't have premarital sex.  I got it...I knew all those things.  But there's got to be something more, right?

My mom told me a story that day, not too long ago.

It was a story that totally clicked with me...one that gave me an "a ha!" moment.

One that still makes me think...

On Wednesday nights at my home church, there is a supper before Wednesday night activities.

My mom often cooked for them, and even when she didn't, we still attended the suppers.

Our minister and his wife also attended those suppers.

One particular night, my mom was sitting by our minister's wife.

Mom noticed that she was portioning out her food and asked her what she was doing.

She had told her that the portion that she set aside was her "tithe" to the Lord.

She was giving that portion to Him, and she would eat the rest of her food.

Wow.

I had never thought about using your food as a tithe.

But as someone who loves carbs, that isn't a bad idea.

It put a whole new meaning on, "offer your bodies as living sacrifices."

She was sacrificing part of her food, what she really wanted to eat, to the Lord.

She was offering up her body as an instrument of righteousness.

That really stuck with me.

Even in my eating...I need to glorify the Lord.