Pursuing Health or Perfection?
You walk to the grocery store checkout line, minding your own business and then you see it. The magazine rack. Proudly displaying cover photos showcasing glamorous, thin, unbelievably toned women. Pressure builds inside as you begin comparing your body to the airbrushed photograph of the young models lounging on the beach in their tiny bikinis. Why don't they have lumps in the same places you do? How do they keep their stomachs so flat? Don't they eat?
Discouragement sets in as you think of the treats you'll have to cut out of your already-diminishing choices of food. You also consider how many hours of working out and tanning you would have to do regularly to maintain what a graphic artist can fix on the models in minutes. When you count the time spent with your family and at your job, you begin feeling hopeless. You can start cutting out hours of sleep or you can accept the fact that your body will never be perfect, but it can be healthy.
Our society places a high premium on physical perfection. So where do you draw the line between trying to be healthy and pursuing the impossible? Exercising, getting enough sleep and eating wisely will eventually lead to a healthier body. In that process you should lose some weight and tone up your muscles as a benefit of a healthier lifestyle. Accepting the fact that you won't look like you're 20 years old at age 50 without multiple surgeries (and even then you're not fooling anyone) should relieve some of the pressure to pursue perfection. Ask yourself, "Who am I doing this for?" After all, your body is not your own. It's on loan to you from your Heavenly Father, who deeply cares about your physical well-being. Make exercise a part of your daily sacrifice to honor God with your body. Make it a spiritual exercise.
Guarding your eyes
It seems impossible to avoid the barrage of perfect body images that constantly confronts us from the TV screen to magazines to Interstate billboards. But you can make some choices. For example, stop purchasing those glamour magazines. Why torture yourself with piles of glossy, doctored photographs? You know they don't represent reality. Keeping them around the house will present a false standard that's nearly impossible to achieve.
Protect your loved ones from falling into the trap of eating disorders by telling them the truth: that the majority of women don't have the "perfect body". Compliment them on their appearance, but instill in them the importance of character and who they are as a person beyond their looks. Consistently assure them that your love does not hinge on their physical appearance. The father figure in the household should be particularly careful not to withhold his affection from his daughters based on their body weight, shape or size. And as a mother, mentor or friend, your duty includes providing healthy meals for the family and speaking encouraging words that express love and acceptance.
Overcoming advertising
Today's advertisements attempt to shock audiences into noticing their product in hopes that the consumer will recall the pictures, as well as the name brand, and purchase the desired item. Certainly many ad campaigns are aimed at men, but at the same time they attack women by causing them to be dissatisfied. Don't pick apart your body. Simply set realistic goals for a good weight for your height and design your own exercise regimen. Enjoy life! Don't focus on your physical appearance to the point of obsession. The best thing a Christian woman can do is to focus on developing her character. Inner beauty is the true magnet that draws others to you.
Of course this does not provide an excuse for women to neglect their bodies. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37, NIV). At the same time we have been told to "Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God" (Romans 12:1). Finding the balance between character development and body maintenance is part of the discipline of the Christian walk. Be encouraged. You can do it! Claim God's Word that says, "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13).
Background Information
Questions and Answers
Stories
If you've been through a experience related to this topic, we invite you to share your story with others.Share Your Story
Other Things to Consider
Related Topics
Life Pressures: Workaholism
Parenting Teens: Drugs and Alcohol, Eating Disorders, Internet Concerns
Relationships: Anger
