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?

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Comments (95)

  • dancesmilelaughwithme@lovelyish

    this is a good point. But still...a bit ridiculous.
  • cattiger03@xanga

    Gluttony is more of a sin of the heart than something that has its basis in the physical realm. When we love food it means idolatry. In this sense then we have broken the first commandment to love God above everything else. God isn't as concerned with our outward appearance so much as he is concerned for where our devotion lies. This is why fasting is seen throughout the old and new testaments. We need to break our heart ties to this world and focus instead on God. Nothing should ever take his place as number one.

  • venomxcupcake@xanga

    Glutton and sloth are both deadly sins. Being overweight in itself isn't a sin, but how you get there can be.
  • subSacred@xanga

    Being large isn't a sin in itself. Allowing yourself to be overweight through overeating and laziness is. Being overweight for any other reason and not trying to do anything about is a sin.

    If I had a dime for every time an obese Christian told a smoker how much smoking displeases God, I'd be rich. 
  • arsenic_and_red_lace@xanga

    i think this is a fantastic post! kudos to the author for this one.

    there is one thing i really want to address here.
    yes, the subject of the post is the sin of gluttony (one of the seven deadly sins)

    however, Gluttony does not directly link to food, over eating and weight issues.

    Gluttony can INVOLVE these things but is not ONLY these things.

    you can be the perfect weight, eat the healthiest of foods in the best proportions and still be a glutton when it comes to alcohol. you can be a glutton when it comes to how much you tv you watch. you can be a glutton with many different things.

    we generally associate it with food because we can look at others and quickly pass judgment on them. people who are over weight are visible to us. while as we don't see what people do in the privacy of their own homes.

    so i think if a pastor WAS  to address this issue in his sermon he should address the topic of GLUTTONY.  
  • MDrabing83

    1 Corinthians 12 or 6 I think says something about the body being a temple of the Lord. So if we don't take care of it, it's not glorifying God. Christians are called to be different (Romans 12:2). I am a missionary & it is not good, I think, when there are overweight missionaries.
  • dreaminlikethis@xanga

    If I waS a Christian, I would consider it a sin.  I mean, it is harming your body and gluttony. 

  • anonymous

    If a person is overweight it doesn't necessarily mean they are a glutton. They could just have health problems, or it could be a genetic factor.
    Gluttony is a sin, but some people who are gluttons are not even overweight (...yet?). Gluttony and being overweight are not so closely related as one might think.
    Being healthy (in terms of eating as well as abstaining from drugs and such) should be encouraged. In order for an individual to maintain a Christian lifestyle and keep their eyes on God only, their habits relating to their health (undereating, overeating, drug abuse, etc.) should not interfere with their relationship with God. Lots of times people who have eating disorders (eat too much or eat too little) are so obsessed with food that they lose sight of God, and become very physically unhealthy... So I think that a healthy lifestyle is something that is beneficial to Christians (and of course non-Christians too) and should be encouraged.
    And for the question, "Should Christians be overweight?" I don't think that it really matters how much you weigh or what you look like... If all overweight Christians were gluttons, then there is a problem because of the sin of gluttony, but that is not the case. God looks at the heart and not at the physical appearance.

  • heartintheclouds_quotes@xanga

    Ehm.... shouldn't people be focusing more on Jesus than their love handles?
  • boycottlove@xanga

    @JUSTAVAPORHERE@xanga - Wow. This is why I find Christians hypocritical.

    My mom is a Christian and she has two tattoos. My best friend and her husband are Christians and youth pastors and they have tattoos and piercings. Half the church my family attends has piercings and tattoos.

    I smoke and I enjoy tattoos, so I guess I'm not really valid in this argument. But I'm not saying that body art is a sin. So, yeah.

  • the_life_of_pie@xanga

    i dont see the problem with preaching against gluttony. thyroid problems and gastrin having nothing to do with gluttony.
  • toyouxwithlove@xanga

    I believe that everyone should strive to eat healthy and get regular exercise, simply because it's good for them. People can't always help being overweight, though.
  • anonymous

    Wow, this is really thought-provoking. I can't think of when last (or ever) I have heard a sermon about gluttony. The Bible says, and I paraphrase here "if you know the right thing to do and you don't do it then it is sin" - Romans 14:23. If we know and agree that our bodies are His and that we ought to take better care of them but choose not too then yes, we are indeed sinning.


    What a sobering thought. Thanks for a good read!
  • sewn_up@xanga

    but God doesn't even exist...
  • BunnyParfait@xanga

    Since when did your weight have anything to do with your religious affiliation?
    Are you serious?

    God Christianity just keeps going further and further down hill.

  • sweet_sianara@xanga

    i think its moreso an issue of self control. eat some more fruit and get some fruit of the spirit.
  • Gosalyn223@xanga

    @sarahb_86@xanga - Don't pester yourself about this article I just think only the article writer feels about this
  • Gosalyn223@xanga

    @venomxcupcake@xanga - I concur. One needs self-control
  • sarahb_86@xanga

    @Gosalyn223@xanga - That made no sense. However, I think I know what you are saying and up until you had responded to me, I had moved on from this nonsense.

  • Gosalyn223@xanga

    @sarahb_86@xanga - What I meant was hon, I probably used the wrong words to describe it. Pardon, hahaha, my english, what I meant was that dont let this post bother you because I think that girl is the only one that feels that way about the overweight issue.


    But I also didnt know that this was an old issue so I wont comment on it any longer.

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