Does God want you to be thin?

A recent Washington post article talks about the prevalence of faith-based weight loss plans. I had no idea this was going on, and I have to say, I’m torn about the whole thing.  I was more skeptical when I read the headline than I was after I read this justification from Pastor Steve Reynolds:

"About 40 percent of you need to lose weight," he told his congregation at Capital Baptist Church. "When you love potluck more than God, it's serious."

You know, I think that’s true, and I think gluttony is an issue that we don’t face enough in the Christian church.  But I think the risks run both ways. It’s easy to let your appetite become a god to you, but it’s also easy to let weight loss or self improvement to become an idol. My friend Stephanie wrote a challenging post about this issue in her own life.  When I was talking about this post with her recently, she mentioned that constantly monitoring your food intake can be an easy a way to push God out of your mind too.

Along those same lines, I don’t think a cooking demonstration in a worship service is appropriate. My concern is that worship is a time that is set aside for worshiping God, and interrupting that with a cooking lesson, to me, cheapens the worship service. Let’s cut into TV time, not worship time, to improve our bodies.

My other concern is that I think our culture already ties thinness to moral righteousness (“I’ll be good and have a salad” “this brownie is sinful” etc). As I’m sure many of you know, weight is a life-long struggle for some and not a problem for others. Genetics, culture and economics play an important role. In fact, weight and health (or fitness) are not always as linked as we think they are.  I would hate for this trend to imply that thin people are better Christians than fat people.  In my experience, body fat and love for Jesus do not correlate.

On the other hand, I do think that we should seek God’s council and put God first in anything we do, including cooking, eating and working out.  I think exercise is a great way to glorify God, who gave us amazing bodies that can lift heavy weights, run marathons, and hold yoga poses. I think eating well is a great way to glorify God for the amazing variety of plants and animals he has given us to eat.  I believe Pastor Reynolds when he says that God called him to change his habits.

So perhaps you understand my fundamental ambivalence about this whole trend. We live in a very strange culture that has an unhealthy obsession with thinness, in addition to an unhealthy trend toward obesity.  I’m not sure that trading one extreme for the other is more Godly.  How might we seek God’s guidance to give us a healthy, balanced relationship with our bodies, while still honoring God above potlucks OR sculpted abs?

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Comments (19)

As someone who is overweight i get sick of all the messages about thinness that bombard me all the time. Do i really have to get them in Church too?
I'm pretty sure God loves me just as i am... i lost 45 pounds not to look good but for my health, if i'm the temple of the Holy Spirit then, why wouldn't i take care of it??
a quick note: the article is actually several years old, but was only recently brought to my attention. The issue, I feel, continues to be current.
I Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

I think the important issue to consider is health, not weight. A part of our responsibilites as Christians is to maintain the temple of our body. Do we not owe it to God to give Him a healthy temple? A healthy body will help us reach our full potential for God.

That said, I don't think God particularly cares what we look like. After all, He loves us sinful and broken, don't you think He'll love us with a few extra pounds around the middle?
I once read it put this way in relation to Romans 12:1. What sort of body are we offering to the Lord?
Right you are Erin. There is also a verse that says Jesus came to earth as a humble person not a movie star type at all. Just couldn't find it in my concordance.

1 Sam 16:7

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
NKJV
"We love potluck more than we love God' just might go down as the funniest thing ever said from a pulpit.

But, I believe Scripture does teach moderation.

I recently saw some photos of a church team that went to Kenya. The contrast of the plump American christians ministering to the thin Africans was a reminder that yes...we are too heavy.

But neither should we worship the diet. Something has to change?

David
www.redletterbelievers.com
I suppose it depends on how it's done - like you, I'm ambivalent.

I have seen weight loss accountability groups kind of like Weight Watchers but with the added bonus of being spiritually aware. Kind of like how the AA groups will talk about their higher power and use that in their recovery, but from a more specifically Christian perspective. My mum was in such a group for a while and she not only got to a much healthier weight so she can do more things (which is good IMO), but also has a healthier approach to eating and diet and all that (which is better IMO). So such groups work for some people, and if they do, that's a good thing.

But does God only love thin people? No. Does God want us all to be physically healthy? Probably yes, but that doesn't mean fitting into what our culture says a good body size is (which usually means thin).
in her book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver says North Americans are lacking a food culture that makes caloric sense. Our food culture is fast food-- which too often translates into fat food. Other cultures have developed cuisine that uses local ingredients in proper moderation to achieve balance. It would be interesting to ask whether a worthy goal of North American Christians would be to create a food culture that more fully taps into foods which are local, rather than flown in from other continents.
This is a very good observation. My wise doctor of years ago told me that to avoid diabetes and migraine I need to eat real food and not prepared. Canned food is ok but it should be just the beans add the spices and noodles yourself. The farmers in the US could certainly use our support.
Gluttony vs. diet idolatry is a false choice. We are temple of the Holy Spirit and should treat our bodies as such; we should also deny ourselves.

But two things: some people do not convert food to energy efficiently and they will tend to be heavier and always struggle with weight control. And two, I'm 5'10" and always way around 165 lbs. I can be as gluttonous as anyone --and sometimes have been-- but no will know because I can skip a meal or two and keep my weight. I need to be careful I don't strut my pride of skinniness just because of my genetics!
I strongly believe that when people are obsessing over being thin then they are idolizing the act of being thin. Likewise, when they are not obsessing about being thin; they are obsessing about the next diet they will use to get thin. It goes both ways. I also believe that when people are over weight or obese they can't function to their full potential. If you are obese or overweight 90% of the time you don't feel great, you are probably on your way to diabetes or a heart attack. A side from all of that 90% of the time you don't have great self esteem either, therefore you are probably not doing what God has called you to do to the best of your abilities. I think knowledge and awareness are important. Understanding cause and effect as it relates to health and the body of christ are both important. I believe when people understand and realize that food doesn't have to be a struggle and that by trusting god and trusting their body to tell them when they’ve had enough and practice to the point where it becomes a habit you can be free. As christians we are not meant to medicate, we are meant to cast out. We don't substitute we cast out, we don't live in recovery we are free.
As someone who has certainly forgotten about God in the midst of weight struggles, I do really appreciate this post. Finding the right balance between being healthy and being celebratory is tough. Well spoken, Bethany!

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