We demolish arguments and every
pretense that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God,
and we take captive every
thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5
I spent years thinking my feet were so ugly & so big that I wouldn’t wear sandals or open toed shoes ever! You might think this is crazy & wonder what in the world it has to do with body image, but feet are part of the body too.
Most of us have spent so many years seeing images from the world that tell us our bodies should look a certain way that we constantly criticize ourselves. This influx of visual stimulation makes it hard to get over feelings of inadequacy about our own body.
The problem with all those images is they leave us covered in thoughts of comparison. When we compare our body to the body God has given someone else, we begin to believe that the shape & size of their body must dictate their level of happiness & we want that happiness too. We believe if we could have the body we see on someone else then all our problems would disappear.
But truthfully, a different shaped body would not diminish or eliminate any other issues in your life.
God wants you to see your body as He sees it.
Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in our image…” {Genesis 1:26}
We are made in God’s image. How in the world could we dislike that? God not only made us in His own image, but He also created a space within our body to carry His living Spirit! Our bodies are an intricate working of cells, muscles, organs, bones & skin that have the ability to live & work in a way, which honors & glorifies God Himself.
So does that mean we completely ignore our earthly body? No, but there is a balance in keeping our body healthy, not hyper focusing on what we perceive as flaws & living in a way that honors the Lord.
Our body is indispensable. We need this body to be able to live on earth. We also need to live on earth to our greatest ability to serve others & serve the Lord. It doesn’t mean we can’t care about how we look, it means we can’t let the way we look be our focus.
Body image becomes a problem when it affects our self-worth. When we start to focus a certain part of our body that doesn’t look a certain way or we don’t fit into a certain size in clothing, then our self-body image is a problem.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a healthy weight, exercise, dress nicely or any other body care process, but we must filter all of that through our value & worth in Christ.
The bible says we are a whole being made up of body & soul. {1 Thessalonians 5:23} While we are on this earth, we are confined to our body in order to live so we must treat our body with a healthy respect.
The parts of us {body & soul} are all interconnected, so being negligent to one part of it is just as bad as paying too much attention to one part of it.
We’ve spent so much time believing we should look a certain way that changing that thought process won’t be easy. We need God to help us find balance in our lives.
Here are 4 thoughts on overcoming body image issues:
· Value the body God gave you – Imagine for just a moment you lost the ability to walk, had a chronic illness or suffered in continual pain. You would be left with a deep yearning for that part or ability back & you wouldn’t be so focused on what it looked like. If we live with appreciation for how our body works, we won’t focus as much on what it looks like.
· Realize your body gives you the ability to completely live out your life in God’s fullness – Romans 12:1 tells us that our bodies are a living sacrifice to God & we actually worship Him with them. If you didn’t have the body God gave you, you couldn’t worship Him fully.
· Thank God for the body He gave you & discipline yourself to be thankful for it – Instead of looking in the mirror & criticizing the part of your body you don’t really like, look in the mirror, directly into your own eyes & proclaim God’s truth about yourself. Tell yourself you are fully loved, completely forgiven & completely able to complete the task He has called you to.
· Don’t let talk with friends be directed by how much you dislike your body – Conversations often head down the road of how much we dislike certain body parts or how certain styles don’t work for us because of our body shape. We end up bashing our bodies. Don’t let yourself do this in conversations. In fact, tell your friends your goal of improving your body image & ask for their help to make sure conversations stay positive in relation to body image.
The more we focus on our lives in the light of God’s view of us, the more we forget the images the world tries to shape us into.
Let’s choose to live fully satisfied with who we are & how much we are valued by the One Who created us.