This is something I read in a book by Carolyn Mahaney. The book is called Feminine Appeal. It brought to mind something I need to remember as I strive to get to a healthy weight.
“We must not allow cultural standards to influence our eating practices. Our society promotes the pursuit of physical beauty, but God’s Word exposes this quest as vanity and calls us to pursue the fear of the Lord instead: “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” (Prov. 31:30).
Being thin is one of our culture’s requirements for physical beauty. However, nowhere in the Bible are we commanded or encouraged to be thin. Therefore, we should examine our eating habits in light of Scripture. We must not chase after the ideal our culture worships, but instead pursue what God esteems.”
This was in a chapter on self-control. Something that I desperately need to master in several areas. While I want to be healthy and need to lose weight to do so. There is the insidious temptation to envy those with the “perfect” body, covet what they have and pursue the “ideal” for the wrong reasons. Hey, we are smacked upside the face with it every time we by food, drive down the road, open the mail box or turn on the telly. The above quote was a good reminder about my motives in this weight loss journey. Do all to the glory of God.
LeighAnn - I keep coming back to this and reading it. Great great thoughts! Why is that we only feel like we are lovable if we have thin thighs, toned abs, etc.? I have to constantly ask myself “to whom do I belong?” — this helps me put things in perspective.
Comment by Mandi — October 16, 2006 @ 6:24 am