Most Americans seem to be obsessed with physical well being. Some to the extreme, resulting in all kinds of health disorders. But it would seem that there are more underlying issues than physical attraction. Some students I’ve worked with, make and female, have experienced a compelling drive to cut themselves, or reduce their weight while believing they were far overweight. Others have taken substances to slow down their stress or to avoid a lot of issues. But today’s devotional reminds me to fix my eyes on Jesus rather than comparing myself to anyone or anything else. Each of us are wonderfully made for His purpose.
“The same mis-location of the body explains many other intractable problems now facing much of our world: the sexualization of practically everything, abortion, eating disorders, and racial and other discriminations. All of these are rooted in taking the body-our own or that of others-to be the person and thereby depriving ourselves of the spiritual perspective on the person, which alone can enable us to cherish the body and its central role in our life.
Body hatred also comes from disappointment about our future with it, even from outright fear of the body-of what it is going to do to us. Not accepting God as God puts us in his place, I have noted, and leaves us with nothing to trust and worship but our body and its natural powers. The frenzy over physical attractiveness that we see all around us today and the despair over its loss-eventually, in aging and death, for everyone-are the main characteristics of the contemporary climate of life.” - Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
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