Why Even Bother?
The following is a journal entry from a few months into my intuitive eating journey. I had come to the conclusion that diets don’t work and shrinking my body was a futile effort. Then the question loomed large: Why should we even bother to care what we eat? What’s the point? That’s how narrow my understanding of health was. It was all about the number on the scale.
God revealed a beautiful, powerful, new understanding.
“I posed the question to myself: If I am not to diet then what reason would I have for eating well or doing intuitive eating or gentle nutrition if I'm not trying to lose weight? I believe I've come up with an answer. I am made by God to do his work. I am the hands and feet of Jesus.
He will be able to work more energetically and more effectively if my body is healthy.
My body is the way that God will interact with the world and make his kingdom come.
The sooner I can come to grips with the fact that I will never have a perfect body this side of Heaven (nor will anyone else) the sooner I can stay focused on what God has put forth and work towards that as opposed to putting all my efforts into shrinking my body.”
This was a God given epiphany for me.
It turned my little world upside-down… just like the Kingdom of God IS from the world’s perspective. See, so many of us have believed the messages we’re swimming in which say that we should all be slim, toned, and pretty to look at.
God’s word says something totally different concerning how our bodies are to look and function. 1 Samuel 16:7 records the choosing of the next king for Israel. Everyone thought that the oldest son of Jesse would be the obvious choice for king. He was tall, handsome, and manly, an obvious choice. But God instructed Samuel to choose David who was still a boy, not necessarily attractive and a shepherd. Why? Because God saw David’s heart. They had been communicating frequently as David was out on the hillsides tending sheep. God knew that David loved Him and would honor Him in leadership.
David could be the hands and feet of God as he led the nation of Israel.
This historical account was very familiar to me. I knew that God was more concerned with my heart than my jeans size. How then do we get so caught up in striving for thinness? It is our culture shouting messages which do not align with God’s word.
Moving forward, I see caring for my body as stewardship of a resource entrusted to me. When healthy and strong in body, mind, and spirit, we can serve our Jesus well. My hope is that you will embrace this truth too and we, together, can be voices of reason and hope to the women and girls in our lives.
That’s why we even bother.
♥️
