by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n
I never mentioned this, but the day after you left — when you declared that life was just a game and that it didn’t matter to you if you lost — I was at a used bookstore and saw a small book titled “If Life is a Game, These are the Rules.” It was too ironic not to pick it up.<\/p>\n
I don’t agree with all the ideas given. But some truths were being presented. The very first rule is that you get a body that is yours for your duration on the earth. You only get one. There are no exchanges, no replacements.<\/p>\n
It is sad when people can’t accept what they have. It would be a perfect body, if I just was thinner, more muscular, had straight hair, had darker hair, had a smaller nose, etc. It is even sadder when people abuse the only body they were given.<\/p>\n
The Lord granted you a good, strong, healthy body. He gave you a tender and loving spirit. In many ways, you are like your dad was when he was your age. It grieves me that he wrecked the gift God gave him. I feel sorry for you that you are intent on repeating his mistake.<\/p>\n
What is being forgotten is that what you have is only a loan. When you harm yourself both in body and spirit with drugs and other sins, you are destroying someone else’s property — property that you were loaned to make use of for the owner’s glory. “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s<\/em>” (I Corinthians 6:20).<\/p>\n I wonder at all the good your dad could have done and could still be doing if he didn’t wreck God’s loan to him. I know he struggles hard to do something with the broken pieces that are left, but I pity the man who might have been and I feel the same about you, my friend, as I watch you ruin your body and spirit. And all for what?<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSearching for My Friend\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Body Image by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I never mentioned this, but the day after you left — when you declared that life was just a game and that it didn’t matter to you if you lost — I was at a used bookstore and saw a small book titled “If Life is a Game, These…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":25976,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-65761","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":30483,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/spiritual-gifts-different-gifts-in-one-body\/","url_meta":{"origin":65761,"position":0},"title":"Spiritual Gifts: Different Gifts in One Body","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Spiritual Gifts: Different Gifts in One Body The influence of the Spirit\u00a0(I Corinthians 12:1-3) The subject now shifts to spiritual matters, in particular spiritual gifts. Ignorance in these matters would not serve the Corinthians well. In their past, many of the Corinthians were idol worshipers, led by their impulses and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65134,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/the-resurrection-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":65761,"position":1},"title":"The Resurrection of Jesus (John)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Resurrection of Jesus Text: John 20:1-18 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Before dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Luke tells us that there were other women with her. They had come to complete the burial preparations that they had so hastily did before the Sabbath -\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65129,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/the-burial-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":65761,"position":2},"title":"The Burial of Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Burial of Jesus Text: John 19:31-42 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was the preparation day, the 14th of the month, the day before the Passover celebration \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0On this day, the lamb was slain for the feast. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Since the Passover was a holy day, it was referred to as a Sabbath day, since no\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30514,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/transformed\/","url_meta":{"origin":65761,"position":3},"title":"Transformed","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Transformed Transformation of the Dead\u00a0(I Corinthians 15:35-49) Having proved there is a resurrection, Paul addresses a related question: In what body are the dead raised? People have often asked this question. Do we come back to the same body that you currently have? What happens if your body was damaged?\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46779,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/witnesses-to-the-resurrection\/","url_meta":{"origin":65761,"position":4},"title":"Witnesses to the Resurrection (Gospel Accounts)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Witnesses to the Resurrection Reading Assignment: Matthew 28:1-15 Mark 16:1-11 Luke 24:1-12 John 20:1-18 Did you understand what you read? Who went to the grave? Why were they going? When did they go? What happened to the stone on the tomb? What did the guards see, and how did they\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66489,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/burial-and-the-grave\/","url_meta":{"origin":65761,"position":5},"title":"Burial and the Grave","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Burial and the Tomb Reading Assignment: Matthew 27:57-66 Mark 15:42-47 Luke 23:50-56 John 19:31-42 Exodus 12:46; 20:8-11 Did you understand what you read? What did the Jews request be done to those on the cross? Why? Why wasn't Jesus' legs broken? How was his death confirmed? Who confirms this? At\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/65761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/65761\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}