Wednesday, 01 July 2009
-
Should Christians Be Overweight?
Over 60% of Americans are overweight. And like our divorce statistics, the number of overweight people in the church must be comparable: there are scores of us every Sunday, pudgy in the pew.There are legitimate medical reasons for being overweight: thyroid problems, medication side effects, etc. But face it: most of us are overweight because we simply eat too much food and exercise too little. Emotional eating is an idol; we use food to self-medicate and feel better before we think to go to God with our concerns. I've heard pastors who preach vehemently against homosexuality and abortion, but who have never uttered a single world against gluttony, which is actually one of the seven deadly sins. Why are we ignoring this serious issue?
My guess is that it's easy to rail against sins committed mostly by those outside the church. Most churches unfortunately don't have significant numbers of gay people in the congregation, and so it's easy for us to pass judgment on them because they're "those other people." However, most churches do have a lot of overweight members; for a pastor to challenge them would alienate people, thus shrinking tithes. So we continue to look down on pro-choice people, for instance, for maligning creation while we damage our own created bodies by overindulging them.
Is being overweight a sin, or simply a health issue? Should we encourage Christians to maintain healthy weights, or should pastors preach acceptance at any cost?
-
recommend
- recs 2
-
share
-
email
- sent 0
Related Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to revelife's Revelife Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in revelife's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: jmisener@thepopsite
- Name: Jessica
- About Me: http://walkingcandystore.wordpress.com
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 23 Views: 0 31767 Comments: 0 1164 View all posts by jmisener@thepopsite
Comments (95)
umm...
if being overweight is a health issue and a sin, I think ANYTHING we do is a sin because anyhting we dois knowingly bad for us. like eating candy, drinking soda, being thing..etc
You cannot be serious with this.
Thank you for this post!! I get so sick of people using the sin of smoking, which yes I do smoke, as examples when they mention sin! It's like they consider it the worser of sins, which I do not believe in. I believe one is no greater than another except for, of course, blasphemy. Neither, we know are good for you, gluttony or smoking, but I guess it's as I said, people just figure smoking for the worser of the two, just like as someone stealing versus someone murdering.
It depends. Overweightness happens for different reasons. When I contracted an incurable disease and went on steroids for eight months, I gained a lot of weight from the medication. I am still losing some of it. I like what Beth Moore says. She says it's about freedom, not about conforming to the world's standard of thinness. I am not prepared to judge that for someone, although I think it is worthwile to address the fact that people do not need to be in bondage to food just as they do not need to be in bondage to something like drugs, because that is essentially what gluttony is.
I was thin before, and when I gained the weight from illness, I used to cry and cry, thinking that people wouldn't accept me that way. I hope that people will extend mercy and grace to others and realize that sometimes things are out of our control. I can't even express the emotional torture I experienced.
I do appreciate you pointing out that it's not right to be immoderate in any area. Food is no exception. However, what the world considers to be "overweight" may not be God's standard for every person, in my opinion. Gluttony is wrong, and so is being overly obsessed with physical perfection.
@swtaznxtc90@xanga - You drive home an EXCELLENT point, :)!!! We know that our bodies are the temples of the Lord, and that having been said, since we consider smoking to be a sin as it desecrates our temples, then we SHOULD do the same for the things you listed! Great point! It kills me because I have a friend who has a tattoo. She figures that is okay (yes, she is a Christian), but yet constantly points out that my smoking is a sin. I figure what is the difference. The tattoo is defacing the body just as smoking. She must think because it mentions God in the tattoo words that that makes it okay. I just have to roll my eyes at that, rofl!
I wouldn't think being overweight, underweight, or at the right weight should matter when your getting your "Jesus on" at church.
Everything we do is a sin and in most likelihood God does indeed hate us all.
Uhm...it's a health issue. Not a sin. What the hell...?
If I want to eat an extra piece of chocolate cake if I have a fight with a friend or something, you better damn be sure I'm going to before I go get my Bible.
It shouldn't matter if we're too skinny or fat. God loves us all, right?
gecko you are very correct. god hates us all
because everything we do sucks. makes ya wonder why he didnt take some
extra time and make beings that didnt perpetually piss him off so much.
The OP writes about overindulgence... that is where the sin lies. I don't think she was really pointing out that people who cannot control their weights, because they don't try to eat healthier and exercise regularly, are at fault.
@swtaznxtc90@xanga - eating candy? how horrible! sorry...if I want some candy I'm going to have it! Might not be the healthiest, but if it's a treat that's good. Pretty sure I'll sin more if I DON"t have my candY!!
Absolutely being overweight is a sin. HOWEVER- everyone's got their own shit to deal with, and if the reason you're overweight is because of emotional eating......this could be a matter of choosing the "lesser evil". I would say it's better to be overweight than to drown yourself in alcohol or addiction.
Thing is, Christianity is about following Jesus and living life to the full....ha, full, not stuffed! I don't know how someone could be enjoying life when it's hard to get around. And gluttony is a waste of what we've been given as stewards (by the way I'm speaking to myself as well, being bulimic :( ).
It's still important not to be judgmental about the issue though. If someone struggles with their weight, so be it. If someone feels inclined towards homosexuality....that's the way it is. What's important is that everyone doesn't give in to sin and fights it as hard as they can.
Along with not being judmental, some medical conditions cause weight gain and/or loss. I know the medications I'm on and need to be on have caused weight gain. So be sensitive about it.
@JUSTAVAPORHERE@xanga - well...tattoos don't do the health damage that smoking does. So maybe you consider it "defacing"...but it's also art and God's an artist...so what, is dying your hair wrong too? What about wearing jewelry or makeup?
Although I don't mean to be an asshole about it, smoking really isn't pretty. I'd advise you to quit as well.
@Pickwick12@xanga - well said. props.
It seems a lot of commenters here think being overweight *could* be a sin because it can destroy our bodies, which is true...but as far as "keeping our bodies temples for the Lord" goes, this is a very thin line. Are we going to condemn anorexics and bulimics too? Girls who tan? Or what about being out in the sun too long and getting burned? Eating candy? Drinking soda? Dyeing hair, painting nails, getting a perm...the list goes on and on.
I don't know, it seems like we're making too big a deal out of little things here. Not to trivialize it but really, we have bigger issues to deal with. I for one don't see how a person with tattoos (assuming the tattoos aren't anything of a sinful design) is somehow less of a Christian than a person without. Let's pick our battles, people.
@ltl_rvr@xanga - Thanks
@sarahzthoughts@xanga - true. I think much of Christianity and many things in life are about picking your battles. As for your thoughts on criticizing those with eating disorders, I would say no. You can criticize when they're half-assing their way to wellness, but it is a legitimate illness, along with being an addiction. If you truly have an eating disorder, then I don't believe you just chose it.
I have to say: I once worked selling books for a very well-known pastor's conference, and man, I've never seen that many fat white guys in one place. So I think we can add another thing to the author's list of reasons that church leadership doesn't address this issue as often as they perhaps should.Those in glass houses etc.
(My own pastor, who's in fact quite fit, has expressed to me his angst that, when he wants to go to the gym, it can cut into the precious limited time he has to spend with his family. So let's not be too hasty to judge.)
That said--
Being overweight is not a sin. A health issue probably, a sign that we're all manipulated by our culture's arbitrary standards of attractiveness certainly, but not a sin.
Living to serve your stomach is a sin, because you should be living to serve God. (Phil. 3:19--"Their god is the belly.") As an unpleasant side-effect, this particular sin might make you overweight. Or it might not; you don't have to overeat to be a glutton. Thomas Aquinas identified five ways of eating gluttonously: "Too soon, too expensively, too much, too eagerly, too daintily."
Another issue is that our society simultaneously provides us with the most fattening and addictive foods known to man, and then holds up an impossibly skinny model (digitally retouched) as the ideal of beauty. What could possibly go wrong with that idea?
In one sentence? "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."
(I just wrote a chapter on this for a book that's coming out next year, so it's all fresh in my mind....)
@JUSTAVAPORHERE@xanga - =]
@ltl_rvr@xanga - ha...
i was just saying, it is potentially bad as well since it CAN cause cavities, diabetes, anything, just as being overweight would.
Thank you. Gluttony is a sin. And I have a hard time respecting someone spiritually who has this part of their life out of control. When I say that I mean grossy obese. I'm not talking about looking like a fitness model. Having a bit of extra weight isn't such a big deal.
I think when your weight impacts your health in a serious fashion you need to do something about it and it's evident there is a part of your life not surrendered to God.
I agree with Beth Moore that it's about freedom and not conforming to the world's standard of beauty. I get that. But that is irresponsible teaching for so many people who are morbidly obese. This is a health issue. I can't look at a woman who is 300 lbs and tell her that it's okay to be that way, that this is God's will for her life. She's heading down the road to diabetes, heart disease, death. SHE is worth it...she is worth taking care of herself. People need to be convinced of this.
Our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. To not take care of them is a sin. And I am overweight myself and working hard to get the weight off. So it's like I'm some Skinny Minnie looking down on others. I know the struggle.
who cares if it's a sin? you should keep yourself healthy because it's the intelligent thing to do. if Jesus came back and said Christians could only eat at McDonald's, i hope i wouldn't be the only person questioning that.
your health should be a priority. my gym, grocery shopping, and cooking time is just as important as the time i spend with family and friends, or on studying. i used to make excuses for being overweight... i was depressed, had emotional problems, couldn't afford healthy foods, couldn't live up to the media's idea of beauty, etc. but they're just excuses. you have full control over what you put in your stomach and how often you work out.
@ultravioletskies08@xanga - Have you heard Beth Moore talk about this? She speaks heavily against overindulgence. That is her point. She is saying that if you are overindulging, you are not free.
I don't think there's going to be a scale at the pearly gates, but we'll definetly be meausured by our self-control.
@RebelHeartTurnedRestlessGhost@xanga - Great, pithy way to put it.
Being overweight is not necessarily a sin. Eating too much, though, is gluttony, a sin. So it is that which leads to being overweight that is the sin, rather than simply being overweight.
Besides that, were we to follow Jesus' commandments to give to the poor, we wouldn't have enough money to eat too much and get fat.