So, here you are, unhappy with your body in a culture that worships thinness. You’re feeling out of control with food in a world where people praise one another for disordered eating habits. You’re watching people sacrifice their health, their relationships, their values, and their passions all in the pursuit of the ideal body. You are bombarded with messages telling you that you are not worthy of love and respect in the condition you’re in. You have received the message that your identity comes from what you look like, what you do, and how “successful” you are. The world is telling you that your purpose is to look good, be successful (AKA make money), and please people. Let me remind you, my dear friend, that you are in this world but you are not of this world.
The wisdom of the world is completely different than the wisdom of God.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness” (1 Corinthians 3:19)
If we take off the lenses of diet culture and look at ourselves through God’s eyes we get a completely different picture. When we accept Christ as our personal savior and invite the Holy Spirit into our hearts we are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our true identity comes from what Christ did on the cross, not from any effort on our part. In Christ, we are accepted (Ephesians 1:13-14), secure (Romans 8:38-39) and significant (John 15:16). Not only were we created by God in His image, we were also created for God.
We are all a part of God’s deliberate plan, created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).
God has a great and mighty purpose for our lives. A purpose that we are distracted from when we are struggling to live by the wisdom of this world. When we give in to the lies of diet culture we try to earn our worth and value and we ignore our true purpose. The Bible tells us that our purpose is to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) and to do the good works He has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:9). God also has a unique and special purpose for each of our lives (Jeremiah 19:11).
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:9)
The foundation of a healthy relationship with food, exercise, and our bodies is knowing our true identity and purpose.
When we know who we are in Christ and know the purpose He has set out for us we are able to see our lives through a lens that is much different than the lens of diet culture. Eating and exercising can then become activities we derive pleasure, nourishment, and enjoyment from instead of things we do to earn love, respect, and worthiness. Once food and exercise are not all wrapped up in earning our worth the power they hold over us diminishes and we are able to learn to listen to our bodies and eat and exercise intuitively.
