The Borrowed Canoe at Lake Windermere

Every summer, the outfitter at Lake Windermere in British Columbia rents cedar-strip canoes to tourists. Before anyone touches a paddle, old Tom Macready walks each group through the same speech. He runs his hand along the hull and says, "This canoe doesn't belong to you. It was built by hand over four months. Every plank was steamed, bent, and fitted. You're welcome to use it — but you bring it back the way you found it."

Most people nod and forget. But occasionally someone drags the canoe over rocks, leaves it beached in the sun, or loads it with gear it was never designed to carry. When they return it scratched and warped, Tom just shakes his head. "You had something beautiful," he tells them. "You could have gone anywhere in it. Instead, you treated it like it was disposable."

Paul's words to the Corinthians carry that same weight. "You are not your own," he writes. "You were bought at a price." The body each of us inhabits was crafted with intention by the Almighty — not mass-produced, not disposable. It is on loan from the God who formed it, redeemed it, and filled it with His own Spirit.

"Everything is permissible," the Corinthians argued. Sure — you can drag the canoe over rocks too. But freedom isn't measured by what you can get away with. It's measured by whether you honor the One who entrusted you with something so carefully made. Glorify God in your body. It was never yours to ruin.