I saw a news piece the other day with two rather large women talking about their organization that helped young girls gain "positive body image" in their extreme obesity. And I thought, "Aren't we missing the point?" "Fat shaming," as it is known, is a bad thing, but does that require that we praise people for it? Is the remedy for fat shaming declaring that obese is beautiful? Apparently so.
We're a confused people. And not just "those people." Christians are confused. I spoke with a lovely young Christian woman who was deeply concerned about being overweight. Will her husband continue to love her? Will she have friends? Can God even use her? This lovely young woman wasn't an aberration. She was the norm. Most women today are deeply concerned about their appearance. So are men. Somehow, somewhere along the way, we got the notion that "the shape of my body determines my worth." It is, indeed, a lie from the heart of Satan. Right along with how much money we make, what the status of our job might be, and all these other superficial measures our society uses today, we've being lied to about worth. We've determined that humans in the womb are only of worth if the mother says so. We've decided that the more valuable people are the beautiful people, with an arbitrary measure of "beautiful" that varies over time. We think that warning someone that being extremely overweight (for instance) can be hazardous to their health is the equivalent of "shaming" and diminishes their value. This and so much surrounding it is a pack of lies from the father of lies, and we -- even we Christians -- buy into it blindly.
God has a different valuation method. First, our innate value is in the fact that we are made in His image (Gen 9:6). Nothing changes that fact. Not appearance, behavior, efforts, possessions, reputation ... nothing. Women, Scripture says, have true beauty when it is internal, when it is cultivated not in the external appearance, but in "the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious" (1 Peter 3:3-4). Now, maybe some men may disagree. Maybe some may prefer the external, but if they do, they are pursuing fleshly passions which, as we all know, satisfy no one and only "wage war against your soul" (1 Peter 2:11). Do you want to be precious? Be the person, in the heart, that God finds precious. Today's oversized women shouting to be valued because they are obese are missing the point. So are the slightly overweight who feel worthless. The point is that God values His creatures because we are made in His image, and He finds most precious the internal beauty that character brings. We could all learn a lesson there, I think.
3 comments:
Far too often we allow what the world values infect what we value. Should we be in better shape? Certainly! But not because of some external standard of beauty and worth, but so that we would be more capable to serve God and His people.
We have definitely allowed our view of YHWH and our relationship to Him to be shaped by the world. I think it's clear that YHWH doesn't base His acceptance of anyone on their physical appearance. What I can't understand is the notion that it is somehow praise those who's physical appearance is clearly unhealthy (myself included). It's gotten to the point where a Dr telling a patient that they'd be healthier if they'd lose weight or exercise is somehow a problem.
People are weird.
It seems to me that the “anti-fat-shaming” activists who advocate celebrating their obesity are going to the extreme in a glaring overreaction to the nonbeneficial practice of basing one’s self-worth on his/her body image and our culture’s “beauty” standards. As you point out, they go way beyond making a valid objection to “fat-shaming” to take an equally unhealthy standpoint. It also strikes me that they are taking cues from the “rainbow” folks in their desire to “take pride in” an obviously overwhelming personal struggle, rather than overcome or forsake it. It is never appropriate to “celebrate” besetting sins or struggles--whether it’s overindulgence, substance abuse, addictive behavior, same-sex attraction, gender dysmorphia, etc. Our deceitful hearts will apparently pursue every angle towards self-help and fulfillment rather that admit a clear and desperate need for God’s redemption.
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