1 Corinthians 6:13 You know the old saying, “First you eat to live, and then you live to eat”? Well, it may be true that the body is only a temporary thing, but that’s no excuse for stuffing your body with food, or indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body! (The Message Bible)
If you compare this verse with other versions of the New Testament you can see that the Message Bible does some interpreting in its presentation. Reading the letters in the Bible is like hearing only one side of a phone conversation. You have to fill in the other side with your imagination. There was obviously some back and forth going on between Paul and the Corinthian church. Some of them were proposing that, since the spiritual was all that mattered, you could do anything you want with your bodies, including sex in a variety of contexts and forms. Paul says that while Christianity isn’t simply a matter of following rules, God made our bodies good and so we should see our whole selves, including our bodies, as God’s gift to us to be used properly. It is plain to see by looking around you that physical things like food or drink or sex can easily become compulsions rather than pleasures. Salvation, in the Christian sense, includes learning how the things of this life can be ordered as originally intended, that is to reflect God’s glory and fulfill humans. Is there a part of your life that needs that type of saving?
Logan Memorial Presbyterian Church 