Rental car

https://odb.org/2026/08/11/what-my-rental-car-taught-me

1 Corinthians 6:12–20 (NIV): 12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

I recently traveled to Los Angeles and had to rent a car. Soon, I was driving through narrow downtown lanes, full of traffic and people. I found myself driving very carefully, slower than normal. Why? Well, I didn’t want to have an accident. But I really didn’t want to damage my rental car. It wasn’t mine, after all. I was just, well, borrowing it. But as I drove, I couldn’t help but think that renting that car illustrated something important about my relationship to God. Scripture teaches that even our bodies—which we might think we own—don’t belong to us. In a larger conversation about sexual sin in 1 Corinthians 6, Paul concludes, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (vv. 19-20). (Adam R. Holz, Our Daily Bread 11th August 2026)

Some scholars believe that people in Corinth may have viewed Christianity as a means of advancing through society (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). Slaves and nobles stood equal before Jesus (Galatians 3:28), so perhaps they thought they could also move up through the social ranks. In his first letter to the misguided church in Corinth, Paul challenged many of the wrong beliefs about what it means to be a servant of Christ. Following the risen Messiah doesn’t mean pride in social status (1 Corinthians 1:26-31), abusing food (ch. 8), or indulging in all kinds of licentious behavior (ch. 5; 6:12-20). Instead, God calls us to honor Him with every part of our lives, including our bodies. (Jed Ostoich, Insight, Our Daily Bread 11th August 2026)

I think it is uncommon for people to exercise as much care for a rental compared to their own whether it’s a house or a car. Somehow when something is ours we take better care of it. However as much as a rental is not ours, we still make it a point to take good care of it. Why? Because if it’s a house, we will be staying there for a long time. So we will make it as comfortable and as clean as we can. Or if it’s a short term car rental, we don’t want it damaged or else we will be paying for the repairs and if you’re abroad, that can be very costly. That’s why it’s always makes more sense to buy a no excess insurance for overseas car rental.

To equate the rented car with our own bodies in Christ as Adam R. Holz did this morning is somewhat unique because it may not cross our minds that our own bodies are not ours. Even if we have nothing to our names, surely we still have our own bodies! But Paul’s teaching is that we have already been redeemed by Christ on the cross. When He died for our sins, as much as it is freely given and by the grace of God, He used His life to buy us from the ruler of this world and leads us to the road that brings us to eternal life. When we are redeemed, we are no longer slaves to our old self and former master. In parallel with this teaching, we are now “slaves” to Christ as the meaning of servants in the bible is usually that of a bond-servant or slave. So Christ becomes our new Master. Unlike our old master who leads us to destruction and who is a thief bent on to steal, kill and destroy – Jesus is a shepherd that cares for His flock. God’s plans for us is to prosper us, not to harm us, to give us hope and a future – Jeremiah 29:11.

Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is where God resides. If we are intimate with another person, we become one with that person together with the Holy Spirit in us. That is why sexual relationship is only to be pursued by believers within the confines of a marriage, not out of it or with a sex worker (1 Corinthians 6:16). Paul said it very plainly and it’s very clear.

The message this morning is that our bodies are no longer our own. Elsewhere Paul taught that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice – Romans 12:1 –  “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Besides avoiding sexual immorality, we must respect the physical limitations of our bodies. Keep it in good shape to avoid diseases and illnesses. Eat healthily, not like a glutton. For example, as much as steaks and durians are nice, we must avoid over-indulging. Don’t eat musang king every day just because it’s cheap and abundant! Eat sparingly, maybe a few times a season. Always pursue moderation and like a rented car, take good care of our body and keep it in proper working condition. If we are healthy and strong, we will be able to serve Him better! After all, we are bond-servants of Christ, our Lord and Saviour, our Master! Amen!