A couple of weeks ago I blogged about my seemingly lifelong struggle with weight. AND…anytime I talk/write about that it creates quite a large amount of interest as people want to know how I lost all my weight and such. (BTW…that post is here if you didn’t get to read it.)
So, I want to write about that here today as I know MANY are preparing for a New Years Resolution (that hopefully will stick!) BUT…before I write let me just say that this article MAY be one of the most discouraging things that you read because there are no shortcuts when it comes to shedding extra pounds, you can’t just “pray them away” and there isn’t a pill that will make it all go away…it’s HARD WORK and you’ve got to have more than DESIRE...you’ve got to have the DISCIPLINE to go along with it.
Here goes…
#1 - Understand That Obesity Is A Spiritual Issue
When I say I was HUGE…trust me, I was HUGE. BUT, I didn’t see anything wrong with it; after all I did not smoke, I did not drink and I was not a homosexual (you know, all of the sins that the church seems to condemn so often!) I read my Bible, prayed…heck, I was in the ministry and the youth group I was leading was growing!!!
THEN there was “that night” in my seminary class.
The pastors in the room were talking about the people in their church, you know, the “sinners” that drank, smoked, cussed, slept around…and everyone in the room seemed to have a story about “those people” in their church.
THEN a guy named Derek (who was really mild mannered and soft spoken) stood up and said, “Can I say something?” Everyone nodded, giving him affirmation to speak and he proceeded to say, “Guys, I know after I say this I am not going to be popular, but we’re sitting here in this room talking about people in our churches that are struggling with sin and the overwhelming majority of us are overweight!”
He went on to say some more about it…but I don’t exactly remember what because I was AUTOMATICALLY convicted by God’s Holy Spirit as He whispered to me, “He’s right Perry, and YOU need to do something about it.”
It was on that day that I began to understand that I am a steward of the body (temple) that God has given me…and how I take care of it tells the world what I think and feel about Christ. (See I Corinthians 6:19-20)
I had weighed around 300 pounds in high school, dropped to about 210 by my Junior year…but during my senior year began to stack the weight back on. THEN I went to college…where I discovered late night Pizza and the Waffle House. By the time I graduated in 1994 I was pushing 270. BUT…like I said, I wasn’t “sinning” like other people I knew…I figured it was ok to be fat.
It wasn’t…and it isn’t!
Obesity is the idol/stronghold that seems to be avoided in the church. (Can you imagine what would happen if the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution on obesity instead of the things they have seemingly mastered?) Yet for so many IN the church food is an idol…it has a stronghold in people’s lives…and unfortunately it is not a sin that can be hidden.
Churches won’t talk about this…and it’s KILLING people. Its sad that churches will preach against alcohol when people IN THE CHURCH are digging their own grave with a fork and a spoon! Obesity actually kills more Americans every year than alcohol, yet, once again, the church ignores it because it is an “acceptable” sin. (AND because many pastors would have to confess and repent…something they love to demand of other people but are often unwilling to do on their own.)
If a person does not understand that how we steward our bodies matters to Jesus…that it IS a spiritual issue, then it will never be take seriously!
I will cover the next five tomorrow.