“I treat my body like a temple, you treat yours like a tent.” This is a line in the Jimmy Buffet song “Fruitcakes," and to most of us it sounds correct. We have all been told to treat our bodies like a temple, but when I hear the verse I have pause. I would argue that we should treat our bodies like tents. Now before you tune me out let me explain myself.
How do you treat your tent? I, at least, care for my equipment. I keep my tent clean. I care that it is not damaged. I mind what goes in it, and what does not go in it, like my muddy boots. I bring my tent on all my adventures. It gives me shelter from the elements, be it beating rain, blowing wind, or freezing temperatures. I always air it out after a trip and I care that it remains in good working order with all the components it should have.
“Okay,” you say, “But how does this apply to your body?” Well, I at least want to get the most out of my life, I want to live it and see the wonderful world we live in. How do you treat a temple? You care for it like it is sacred, which a temple should be. You carefully mind where you build your temple, you care that nothing bad should befall it. You act very solemnly and piously around it. In short if I treat my body like a temple, I will be afraid to do anything that might cause harm to it.
Whereas if I treat my body like a tent, I will not be afraid to bring it into more places that might be a bit more dangerous. But I will always take precautions to keep it safe, as I want to be able to use it for a good long time. My tent has seen the deserts of New Mexico and the ocean of Maine, it has been to the Rocky Mountains of Utah and the pine forests of the Adirondacks. And I don't want to be afraid to take it wherever it gets the chance to go, the same with my body. I do not want to be stopped by a fear that I might hurt, but rather do it and take the proper precautions to ensure I do not get hurt.
When the Israelites were first carrying the Ark of the Covenant they housed it in the Tabernacle, a great tent. God gave specific directions on the construction of this Tabernacle in the book of Exodus. Later, however, King Solomon built a Temple to house the Ark of the Covenant. God never commanded this be built, it was a human idea and of human design. God did not oppose, but neither did he command it.
Now this probably in no way relates to the analogy which we should use to describe how we treat our bodies. But it is interesting to think about. And I at least will continue to treat my body like a tent, taking care that I do not damage it, but not being afraid to bring it to see the world either.
