This week I should have been featured on Channel 4's 4Thought programme offering my views on the question: Is it a sin to be fat? Unfortunately, because they had too many women taking part, my slot was axed at the last minute. Here below are the main points I would have wished to have made....
1 The feelings of shame and guilt are common among fat people. Much of this guilt feeling is due to having 'been bad' for breaking the dietary rules of some conventional diet, health mantra or slimming club Breaking these arbitrary rules is not sin
2. When people eat as a response to an emotional need, they feel ashamed because their eating is out of control. This, also, is not sin. Guilt under such circumstances, and the resultant sense of self-loathing far from deterring a person from eating inappropriately, only exacerbates the feelings of worthlessness and helplessness and is a sure cue for …yes – more eating to compensate for low self-esteem!
3. Although it isn’t a sin to be fat (and God loves us equally no matter what shape or size we are) gluttony, however, is. In fact in some religious traditions it is classed as one of the seven deadly sins.
4. Gluttony is a sin because it is a self-indulgent, food-specific form of lust, which is any God-given drive taken to excess. It is a violation of our own bodies since it puts an insupportable burden upon them, greatly increasing the risk of ill health. Also to eat more food than we need whilst so many others are starving is contrary to Christ's love. Perhaps we all fail in this regard. You don’t have to be fat to be a glutton! Hasn't just about everyone eaten excessively at times; eating simply because it’s readily available and we just fancy the taste? We therefore need to be very careful when pointing a finger at others with weight issues… our criticism and judgement might arguably be the greater sin!
5. As Christians, we believe that our body is a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. We do not own our bodies, but are stewards of them, therefore we honour and respect God by eating in a way which promotes optimum health. For Christians to neglect or abuse their own body in any way - yes, this is sin. We can abuse our bodies by over-eating or under-eating, by eating junk, not exercising sufficiently or a combination of all three. When we do not know any better our ignorance may excuse us, but 'for him who knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him (or her) it is sin.' (James 4:17)
6. There are many factors which might contribute to a person having weight-related issues, many of which have little or nothing to do with sin. There may be a genetic predisposition, medical condition or medication causing weight gain; social upbringing, education and economic standing may have a part to play whilst ingrained habits and thought patterns, inherited through our social conditioning, can also exert a powerful influence.
7. Vitally, eating for emotional reasons, such as stress, low self-esteem, unresolved pain, fear, loneliness, boredom or spiritual emptiness – all these create a pattern of disordered eating. Sufferers need compassion and understanding, not judgement and condemnation. God will renew our thoughts and heal our emotional wounds if we will let him.
8. Medical research in the field of dieting is proving it to be ineffective and even counter-productive for most people as a long term solution to being overweight. Slimmers who fail to maintain their weight loss after a diet often beat themselves up over it, but in truth it is often the diet which has failed them.
9. Whether our reason for being fat is due to gluttony or any of the underlying reasons I have cited, it is vital that we each accept personal responsibility for our condition for only then can we be truly helped.
10. I was obese throughout most of my adult life and dieting only made it worse. However, seven years ago I turned to God and asked him to help me deal with the roots of my inappropriate eating. I lost four stone slowly, over a period of a year, and have remained a normal weight ever since. For the last five years I haven’t even owned bathroom scales!
11. God isn’t standing over us with a big stick ready to punish us for our wayward eating, but as a loving Father he will certainly correct us. His love is unconditional and He longs only to heal us and to help us if we will only turn to him.
|
