On Body Image and Health

Verses:

Ephesians 5:29: For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church…

Matthew 6:25: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

John 4:34: "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."

Mark 12:30-31: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these.

Thoughts:

How should we view our body image and health? 

We are constantly inundated by the ideas that men are only healthy if their muscles are popping out or girls are only beautiful if they are incredibly skinny. 

But, the world’s “perfect body” has become practically untouchable. The average person can’t even dream of getting to that “fit” of a level. And, the funny thing is, the ripped man that we see on television or the skinny woman posing in a dress is often not actually healthy. The world’s version of what is supposed to be “perfect” and “healthy” borderlines on unnatural.  

The world has idolized body image. 

This shouldn’t be shocking if you read Romans 1, where they worship “the creature rather than the creator,” and the fitness and health industries make millions off of it. There are always new products being produced that will fulfill every need you may ever have. There are always new fad diets circling the internet. There are always new pills to make you skinny and injections to make you buff. 

But, this is where the question comes in: what is our standard for a “good” body? What is our standard for health?

We have to look to God’s Word to understand how we should view our bodies and our health. 

In the bible, we are called to take care of our bodies and present them to God as living sacrifices. Our bodies are temples. We should not worship the temple, but rather what the temple represents: God. However, we are called to rightly love and care for our body, but never in a way that idolizes it. 

Taking care of our body is not an end in and of itself. Trying to eat good food to have a fit body is not the end in itself. Our care for our bodies, for our health, should be enabling us to love God and love others. 

Caring for our bodies and obsessing over health should never take priority over fulfilling those commands. 

And, specifically to the ladies, that does mean trying to be lovely is wrong. What is wrong is if that goal consumes your life, when that desire dictates the way you eat and the way you view your body.

Ultimately, our life–whether it be eating or drinking, whether it be how we look and present ourselves–should be pointing to God and not to self.

Summary: The world has idolized the body and worked it into the way it views the body and health. But, we should stop letting the world dictate how we see our bodies. Rather, we need to focus on taking care of our bodies and loving them, in a good and right way that puts God’s glory first, and not our own. 

Questions: In what ways am I letting the world dictate what I think is healthy, rather than eating, drinking, and working for God’s glory? What idols have I allowed to take root in my life? How do I change my habits to love God and love my neighbor better?