Have you ever looked at an old picture of yourself and thought, “Holy guacamole! Why in the world did I think I was heavy back then?”

Maybe you didn’t specifically mention guacamole and/or any dips. And maybe it wasn’t a comment about your weight. But, I’m guessing many of us have looked at pictures from a while ago and regret now that we regretted our appearance back then.

The girl who stares back at me from those vintage pictures is decidedly cute, even if culture dictates a different standard of beauty. It’s taken me years to gain that perspective of myself.

But think for a moment about God’s perspective of us which is not time-bound. Even before the foundation of the world, He chose you. And He sees you as beautiful and beloved.

Today, before we dive into the topic of stewarding our bodies, let’s take a moment to acknowledge that God designed us with deep thought and intention. He looked at the epitome of His creation in the garden and declared that we are not just “good” but we are “very good.”

Let’s embrace the idea that we are God’s masterpiece and that He simply doesn’t make mistakes. But let’s also wrap our minds around the truth that Paul expounds in 1 Corinthians, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

If you’ve been around Christian circles for a while, you’ve run across the idea that we are not our own but that we are stewards of the gift of our physical forms. But what does that actually mean? In order for us to grasp the nuances of this concept of stewardship, let’s get some help from the well-known Parable of the Talents.

To do a quick recap of the parable from Matthew 25: The master of a home goes on a trip and distributes talents (or large sums of money) to his three servants. Servants 1 and 2 put the money to work and double it. But Servant 3 puts his feet up and decides to do nothing with the money. When the master returns from his trip, he is pleased that servants 1 and 2 have invested wisely and commends them for being faithful with the little they’ve been given. But Servant 3 is reprimanded for his laziness and for twisting his master’s character and intentions.

What does this have to do with stewarding our bodies?

First, stewardship involves investment. Like the first two servants, we ought to recognize the gift we’ve been given. Good stewarding means we invest time and effort (and often sweat) in caring for that gift. Unlike Servant 3, we don’t make excuses and take the laidback approach. Instead, we are intentional about nurturing and nourishing our bodies. What does that look like for you? Maybe it means turning our phones off and sleeping earlier so we can go for a walk in the morning. Maybe it means meal planning and prepping so we don’t need a fast-food fix. When something is a good gift, or scratch that, a very good gift, we don’t neglect it. Instead, we are intentional about nurturing it.

Second, stewardship implies a temporary phase: Now, this is not an “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we may die” endorsement. But the fact is our earthly bodies are short-term rentals. Like the servants in the parable, there’s a time limit on our stewardship. This means that while we invest in nurturing it, we don’t obsess over our physicality. We are not called to take something transient and conflate it to an idol. What does this look like practically? If we find ourselves unable to think of anything but losing 15 lbs or if we feel like missing a workout will make us less valuable, then it’s time for a heart check. What is on the throne instead of Jesus? This may be a call to repentance and allowing God to reconfigure where we find our worth and identity. Our physical beings are not an end in themselves. They are a means to glorify God by serving others.

Third, stewardship entails accountability: Just as the master of the house entrusted the talents to the servants, God has entrusted us with our physical forms. When we overindulge, we violate that trust. When we punish ourselves by overexercising, we violate that trust. So, what does this sense of accountability look like in daily life? It means reminding ourselves that our bodies are not our own. It means putting God at the center of mealtimes and even snack times. It means remembering “Whether you’re eating or drinking, you’re doing it for the glory of God.”

I’ve struggled with body image issues for decades. But understanding the nuances of stewarding this good gift gives me an opportunity to glorify God.

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