Body image - YIKES!!
This is a topic I deal with everyday. I have good days where I can look in the mirror and tell myself I'm strong, that curves are sexy and my husband thinks I'm beautiful; but there are probably more days where I stand in front of the mirror critiquing every inch of my body and telling myself what's wrong with it. There are a lot of ways to look at this topic, so this may be kind of a long post, but I know I'm not the only person who deals with this.
First, of course, we go to the word. The bible talks about what's important - and it's not how my jeans fit or how I look in a bathing suit. And the good news is if we can get a grasp of what the bible places as a high priority, it definitely takes some of the heat off!! In I Timothy 2 it says we shouldn't be worried about adorning ourselves with gold or expensive clothes, but that we should make ourselves attractive by the good things we do (I Timothy 2:9, 10). This same sentiment is echoed in I Peter 3:3 & 4, which says, "Don't be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands." Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy getting all dressed up and I hate leaving the house without makeup; and I honestly don't believe these verses are telling us all to wear potato sacks and no makeup. I think this speaks to the spirit with which you do things. I believe it's saying you shouldn't base your entire self-worth and who you are on how beautiful you are, how fancy your clothes are or how skinny you may be.
Believe me, I know this is a dicey subject. I know some people read the bible and believe women shouldn't wear jewelry or makeup or anything; and if that is how you believe, I totally respect that. But I do believe it's possible to follow that and still not be "beautiful" by bible standards; you can dress however you want, but if you don't work on who you are on the inside, I believe you're missing the point. Proverbs chapter 31 talks about traits a good woman and wife should possess, and in verse 30 it says "charm is deceptive and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised." We all know as you get older, your body changes. It's just part of it, but this is saying that the beauty that comes from fearing the Lord and living the way the bible tells us to does not fade.
I believe it's important to remember that who you are on the inside is way more important than how you look on the outside. I'm constanly unhappy with my lower body. Like a lot of women, I think my butt is too big and my thighs are thick. My husband loves my lower body and constantly tells me I have the sexiest legs ever. More than once I've told him he's crazy and that if I could lose some of the fat from my butt and legs they'd be better, but more than once he's told me even if I lost some of that fat, I still wouldn't be happy. And deep down I know he's right. Because no matter what I lose, without the right attitude, I'm always going to want to lose more.
Let me say, I'm not advocating not working out and saying that it doesn't matter what you look like. I believe you should work out and eat right and take care of the body God gave you. I Corinthians 6:19 tells us our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that our body doesn't even belong to us - it belongs to God! I try to be dedicated (and lately have done pretty good) to working out about five days a week, but I can't let that become my life and my entire motivation can't be to lose weight. It goes back to the same thing as the makeup and clothes, it can't become your entire identity. If you base your entire identity on how much weight you can lift or how your body looks, you'll never be truly happy. There's always going to be someone stronger, someone skinnier, etc.; and believe me that's hard for me to say. I'm an extremely competitive person and I hate the thought that there is someone better than me.
There is no "perfect" body shape or size. God created each of us just the way we are, and we know God doesn't make mistakes. I hope this post has helped. There are days that we all get down on ourselves and think if we could just lose that last 10 pounds or look like that model in a magazine, we'd be happy; but the truth is, we wouldn't be. It sounds corny, but we do have to learn to love ourselves and reorganize our priorities. Instead of being so worried about fat rolls and the number on the scale, we need to be making sure we are spending time reading the word and living the type of life God has laid out in the bible. By doing that, fearing the Lord and honoring him in all we do, then we will find true happiness. Go ahead and set the goal to lose 10 pounds or to run a 5K, but just remember to do it with the right attitude. The old saying is true "It's what's inside that counts." How beautiful are your insides? I know mine could use some work - like squats, lunges and pullups for my spirit!!
I hope you always remember God made you a wonderful creature and loves you more than you will ever be able to comprehend. I Timothy 4:4 says everything God created is good. God made you fabulous!!
