“There’s nothing good to eat,” says my fourteen-year-old daughter on a daily basis. Trouble is, all she wants to eat these days is junk food.

I can’t really blame her, though. My grocery shopping and eating habits weren’t always what they are now.

We’ve been making steady progress toward eating better and exercising more this year. I’ve even made my own point to get more sleep. My poor teenager has been forced to come along for the ride since I am not buying a lot of the junk I used to when I visit the grocery store.

Did you know, however, that taking care of our bodies is something God wants us to do?

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “‘What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own? You were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.'” (MEV) It also says in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “‘Therefore, whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.'”

Because our bodies are not our own; because they belong to God and are temples of the Holy Spirit, we are called on to take care of our bodies–to glorify God in all that we do.

Pastor Rick Warren once said, if you were walking down the street and saw someone vandalizing a church, wouldn’t you do something? Not taking care of your body is like vandalizing God’s temple.

Isn’t it easier to eat better, exercise, and get enough sleep when you think of it in the terms of caring for God’s temple?

Making a change like that isn’t easy. Oftentimes, it won’t happen overnight. What you can do, however, is take baby steps and build upon each accomplishment. Just like a child doesn’t enter into the world running from room to room, take your approach to healthy living one step at a time.

Instead of cutting out junk food all at once–something that is sure to make you miserable and might give you headaches–cut out one particular junk food and replace it with a healthy item.

Instead of going from little or no exercise to working out every day of the week–which might make you so sore you can’t move–exercise three days a week and then increase your level of activity as your strength and endurance increases.

We will talk more about this in the days ahead. By caring for God’s temples, we are in a better position–and have the energy–to perform God’s work.