"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own. For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." I Corinthians 6:19,20

I realize that placing a biblical text at the beginning of an academic paper immediately opens the door for criticism or rejection, however, considering the role that this particular book plays in my personal relationship to the body, I see no other choice. The fact is, my beliefs as a Christian go a long way in shaping the way I relate to my physical being. As such, it is safe to say that the way I view my body is far different from most of the world and certainly most of my peers at Washington State University. Nevertheless, it is a position I feel strongly about, and to proceed without establishing this context would be an injustice.

To consider my body as a temple is not done with arrogance or a "holier than thou" attitude but out of respect for the rather phenomenal gift our Creator has bestowed upon each of us. In believing my body to be a gift, rather than something inherently my own, I can't help but hold a fundamental view different than most. My body is not self-generated. I am borrowing it for a time and as such, I am that much more careful with it. Just as I take precautions when handling something that belongs to another, I have more than my own interest to consider when dealing with my body.

Technology races forward at a historically unprecedented rate, yet the human body remains the world's most incredible instrument. A more versatile creation does not exist. Nevertheless, the body is certainly not indestructible. To thrive, It requires care and maintenance. In attempting to honor the body given me, some might criticize my moral stance. It has been my experience, however, that biblical guidelines applicable to the human body are not arbitrary ways for God to squelch pleasure but rather the blueprints for physical and spiritual health. As HIV and STD's have much of humanity living in fear, I have utter confidence with regard to my own sexual safety. My confidence does not derive from condoms or pills but in the fact that I have been and will be sexually abstinent until the day I'm married. Beyond disease, I am also immune to the weight, responsibility, or guilt imminent in an unwanted pregnancy.

Drug use is another risk which I have avoided, realizing the obvious physical and mental threats it poses (This is your brain, this is your brain on drugs...). Of course, my opinion is that a substance-based high is only useful if one is not satisfied with their own reality. As such, I have never been tempted to indulge in the world of drugs as I find contentment with who I am. Even cigarettes and alcohol are substances I have never experimented with. Though no specific biblical statement prohibits either in moderation, their addictive nature and detrimental side-effects could conceivably serve to undermine my discipline, my wit, and certainly, my health.

With regard to body piercing and tattoos, I don't have any real problems with either, though they are endeavors that do not interest me personally. Basically, I don't want there to be any distractions with regard to my external person. I don't want people to look at me and get caught up in external markers, failing to see the man behind them. I realize, of course, that there is no way to completely avoid this type of social reading. No matter how I look, some type of assumption will be made. Still, tattoos and body rings, whether right or wrong, tend to imply negative or rebellious stereotypes and that is not really what I am about. I do not want to be too easily marked merely by the way I appear.

Up to this point, I have dealt mostly with the physical body, however, the mental side is actually more important to my own being. It is my mental conviction which dictates my external actions. I can say with confidence that the restraints I place on my external behavior only serve to sharpen and enrich my thought processes and intellectual capacity. Actually, the mere fact that I place these limits on my physical behavior forces my mind-set to be that much sharper. It's like an athlete who places himself under a strict training regimen. If the mental determination and focus is not there, then the endeavor is hopeless. The mind must be disciplined before the body can follow.

Beyond this notion, an athlete who trains merely for the sake of training is just wasting time. Training is not an end unto itself but rather a means to an end. The goal is something much more significant. Likewise, I am a fool if I deny my fleshly impulse for the sake of bodily discipline alone. My actions stem from a much deeper motivation. If my life lasts for only seventy years then many of my convictions are ridiculous, but if I'm to live for eternity, as I believe, then the way I live today matters a great deal. Ultimately, I behave as I do because I believe my being to be everlasting. Let that be understood.

With that said and done, let me say that implementing physical constraint is much harder than it sounds. What is very simple in theory, often becomes much more difficult in practice. The problem is that within every human body there exists a continual power struggle. I am of two-minds about almost everything. Unlike animals, humans live in the realm of moral dilemma. People may take issue with this notion, but it is absolutely true. Anytime we demand justice or fair treatment, we are conceding that there is some universal ethic which governs us. Every time we argue or debate, we are trying to show that the other party is in the wrong. If there is no such standard, then why bother? While animals are free to act on instinct, without the hindrance of something as complicated as right and wrong, the human conscience has forever denied me that liberty.

Guilt, itself, is an interesting phenomenon. Where did it come from, and what does it mean? If I am my own man, my own entity, then why is there a voice inside my head telling me what is right and wrong. At the same time, if I know what I "should" do, why do I so often do the opposite. These questions may never come into play for most people, but for the Christian and for myself, they are crucial. It is this type of critical thinking which helps stimulate my mind and build the mental discipline necessary to keep my body in check.

I have often heard people say that Christianity is a crutch, a support for the intellectually-challenged, too weak-willed or insecure to handle things on their own. While I am all too eager to admit my own need for divine support, it is a mistake to label all Christians as weak. After all, it is much easier to ride downstream with the current than to swim against it. I am tempted by vice as much as anyone. It's not as if I'm living in a vacuum where sexual desire does not exist or where the pleasure pulse beats with less ferocity. Fighting these impulses becomes an exercise in mind over matter, forcing my body to submit to my will. Any restriction I put on the physical only serves to increase the capacity of the intellectual. Where one sense is denied, another thrives.

Ultimately, temptation can only be fully realized by the person who resists it*. This resistance is not a characteristic of weakness but of strength. Once someone concedes to temptation, the struggle is over, they no longer have to fight. The person who holds out, however, must continue to deal with that temptation, and do so to an extent that the one who submits never will. It's just like running in a marathon. The person who collapses prematurely, giving in to cramps or fatigue, never experiences the pain of the runner who finishes. People who always give in do not understand temptation's full scope. On the other side of the coin, the runner who gives up, though avoiding some of the agony, misses all of the victory, and this is what it all boils down to.

As I grow older and mature in my beliefs, I realize more and more how difficult it is to not be conformed to this world. Individuality is easy to talk about in broad abstract sweeps, but in the end, as much as people hate to admit, we are very apt to conform. As such, I am constantly convicted as to what my behavior should be. It is not a matter of what is justifiable but of what is profitable. Those are two very distinct considerations and often cause me to further restrain my liberties. As hard as these choices often are, I am always amazed at what a person can do when necessity mandates it. Whenever something has to be done, possibility or impossibility is not really a question.

In the end, the reality of my situation is that I am a failure. I do not know the full extent of temptation because I have not perfectly resisted it. What then, is my plight a hopeless one? By no means. My victory is derived not through my own strength but by God's mercy. He covers my failures through the body of His sacrificed Son, the only person to ever experience temptation in its purest and most uncompromising form. One might ask then, if I am a failure and helpless except for God's grace, then why bother with any attempt at physical discipline? After all, the more one sins, the more God's grace prevails. Really, the reasoning is quite simple. We do not express thanks by affronting the very one whom we are thankful to. In the same way, I show my thanks to God by seeking to honor Him with my lifestyle. In accepting His provision, I submit no longer to my own desires but to His authority; the gift is not without condition. The end result is that I worship God with my body and this is a decision which dictates the whole of my behavior. Without such direction my life would be a thoroughly empty one.

*With the experience and insights of an additional two years, I see a need to qualify the statements I made concerning the nature of temptation. While it is true on an immediate basis that the one who gives in to temptation does not experience the full scope of the one who holds out, in the broader sense, the one who gives in will have a much harder time resisting in the future than the one who does not. The nature of temptation is insatiable. It promises satisfaction but fails to deliver. It is satisfied with nothing less than more, and its addictive nature makes avoidance even harder in the future.