This is the topic that a lot of people are uncomfortable about, and I’ll be very transparent and blunt to say that it’s a sensitive one and not one that’s easily talked about.
Our society is saturated- completely saturated- with diet culture and what we should aim for our bodies to look like.
But, here’s the good news: the world’s standard is not God’s standard. So many things about the world go against what the Bible teaches, so we have to stay with the truth.
Let’s first talk about body image. God speaks truth in His Word about how we are to view our bodies.
As soon as I said “body image” you may have automatically had a negative feeling come up- there are things you don’t love about your body and insecurities you are working through. This is extremely common among women.
It goes back to the experiences we’ve had in the past, what we’re consuming about body image on a consistent basis, and if we are renewing our minds with what the Word has to say about our bodies.
Struggle with body image goes all the way back to the very first two people created on earth, Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:6-8 says, “When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.
When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.”
After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they immediately felt shame. Shame was not even a thing in their lives until they sinned. This is the first time in the world that we see people struggling with body image issues.
Think about this… nothing actually changed about their bodies after they sinned- they looked the very same as they did before they ate the fruit. They didn’t gain baby weight, they didn’t put on the freshman 15- it was the simple fact that sin was now present, and they took their eyes off of God and onto themselves.
The key to fixing our body image issues is to stop fixing our eyes on ourselves and look to Him for our source of joy. Our bodies are made in His image to bring Him glory. The way that the gospel, or the good news of Jesus, brings freedom to us is by removing the focus from us entirely and shifting that focus to God.
2 Corinthians 4:7-12 says, “If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!”
If the sole or primary reason we are dieting is so that we can achieve a certain look, where’s the focus? If the sole or primary reason we are working out is so that we can achieve a certain aesthetic, where’s the focus?
Body goals are not bad and they are not wrong. But, it’s all about our heart toward the goal and who gets the glory through the process.
Losing 10 lbs doesn’t grow us in godliness but using discipline to get us there definitely does. We are no longer just giving our bodies whatever they crave but we are pushing down our flesh- this is the real principle and purpose of fasting- living a fasted life instead of endlessly trying every quick fix that pops up.
Anything in our lives can become an idol. If we are hyper focused on our physical appearance, it’s an idol in our lives. When we start focusing on bringing God glory through our bodies and not ourselves, that’s when we putting our physical bodies in line with what the Bible teaches us about our bodies.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says, “So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”
I love that passage of Scripture because it reminds us how temporary our physical bodies are- remember, our body is the third part of us that isn’t eternal- it will die one day- it will be separated from our spirit and soul.
Does this teaching bring us to the place where we then think, “Okay, so if my body is dying, why should I eat well, why should I work out”? That thought pattern would be like saying, why should you eat food or why should you work because it’s all temporary- the entire world we live in will be gone one day.
That's wrong thinking.
Rather, what God wants is for us to live in complete health. 3 John 1:2 says, “The Pastor, to my good friend Gaius: How truly I love you! We’re the best of friends, and I pray for good fortune in everything you do, and for your good health—that your everyday affairs prosper, as well as your soul! I was most happy when some friends arrived and brought the news that you persist in following the way of Truth. Nothing could make me happier than getting reports that my children continue diligently in the way of Truth!”
There’s a lot covered in those few verses: God wants us to prosper in our physical bodily health, our family and work, and mentally and emotionally in our soul.
That’s really what this whole challenge is about, growing the whole person: spirit, soul, and body. It isn’t about growing one area and neglecting the other two, or vice versa. It is God’s will that we prosper in all things!
The word, prosper in the dictionary means, “flourish physically: grow strong and healthy”. Of course, we cannot prosper in health if we are not disciplined.
Discipline in food and exercise does not mean complete restriction, never having any fun foods, or doing hardcore workouts 7 days a week. But, discipline does mean educating yourself on what foods really do bless your body, planning ahead to feed your family well, and getting movement in every day.
These are simple principles for health that with a little time and planning, we can all do.
I realize that after one blog post on body image that you won’t go into the bathroom, look at yourself in the mirror, and love everything you see. But what I do hope you’ve been inspired to do is dig into the Word of God and meditate as many weeks as you need to renew your mind about your beautiful body.
Psalm 139:13-16 says, “Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.”
So yes, take the steps to get your body healthy so that you may live long and strong and fulfill what God has called you to on this earth, but do not allow the Enemy to bring shame into the game.
Shame is equivalent to sin, and you are free from condemnation because of Jesus Christ.
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