First of all, this post is going to probably rile you up a bit.
OK, you've been forewarned.
Check out this article.
It's a controversial article on Fat and Christians written by a Christian doctor. Here's an excerpt, from a list of 6 things Christians should do about their fat...
1. Reject Your Fat
The first step to overcoming obesity is to not tolerate it. Do not excuse it. Do not comfort yourself about it. Do not rationalize it with your reasons, whether emotional, spiritual, medical, or genetic. Say to yourself, I am fat and I need to get rid of it!
2. Recognize Your Eating Patterns
People don’t get fat for just any reason. They respond to all of their cravings, and eating discipline doesn’t exist. Over-eat and you will become fat. This may not happen in a week, but it will happen. The law of physics applies; if you continue growing fat cells, they will extend everywhere and invade every inch of your body. Obesity leads to early death, but fitness extends life.
3. Stop Hiding Behind Religion
The very evidence of fat in a person’s life demonstrates that there are some spiritual areas that need attention regarding compulsions and lazy behaviors. Hiding behind your Christian faith (or fat) by saying what matters most is that you are growing in your spirit is an insult to God when you fail to address an area of life that matters to God. God is faithful and will point out the sin that causes the fat to exist in the first place.
Wow. I have rarely read anything like this in Christian circles. Usually we read stuff more like "accept yourself" "love yourself!" and "Jesus loves you for who you are" as answers to not liking how one looks or feeling self-concious about a little too much "junk in the trunk."
My question is, dear readers, where do you think 'self-esteem and loving what God gave you' and 'rejecting fat and circumstances that got it there', fit together?
Anxious to read your thoughts!
Christina
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2 comments:
Interesting, Christina! I think we do need to take responsibility to take care of the body God has given us & not abuse it. I'm sure many times there are underlying sin issues that contribute to obesity. But, on the flip side, it's also sinful to make your body a god in your life. You can go too far and put too much emphasis on physical appearance, exercise & dieting. It can become an idol in your life or a pride issue and border on eating disorder kinds of stuff that also have underlying issues. If we could only keep God where He belongs...the One and Only who alone deserves our worship and praise.
interesting... YES! I totally agree, Linda. We have to be aware of all the ways the enemy is trying to take strongholds in our lives. The problem is, we like to cover things up with semantics and make ourselves feel better (on whatever end of the spectrum we fall), when what we really need is some honest Truth from Scripture to enforce our identities in Christ and nothing else. Exactly as you say, "keep God where He belongs - the One and Only" instead of settling for lesser things.
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