Being a Christian and overweight

This has been something I have had on my mind recently. I want to make sure that what I say is not meant to be slandering or mean to anyone, but rather encouraging to myself and others. If you take offense to this, I am very sorry. I am just genuinely curious about what others think and what the bible says, and also wanting to share my opinion.

Anyways, this is what I believe. The Bible says in Romans 8:5-9 (NIV):

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

So, if we live to gratify the flesh, we live in the flesh and are not pleasing to God. If we live to gratify the flesh, we are sinning. Eating a ton to feel good is sinning. Of course, eating so we don't fall over and die is always a good thing. But it all depends on our motives.

Here are other verses.

Romans 13:14 (NIV)
14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

2 Timothy 1:7 (Amplified Bible)
7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

Mathew 4:4 (NIV)
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”


I think I'm trying to make a few points here.

1) We can't focus on how to gratify the flesh, or in this case, focus on eating and feeling good (My step-dad always complains that I always talk about food... But I think that's just all that he wants to hear )
2) We should have self-control and discipline. Self-control over our desires so that we can chose to not sin.
3) We cannot live alone by depending on ourselves or things. We must turn to God for strength, comfort; depending on Him for EVERYTHING! Sometimes we turn to our favorite foods instead.

Of course, we cannot turn away from sin without God's strength and Him living in us. He purifies us and cleanses us from anything that is not of Him when we allow Him into our hearts and seek Him. We must depend on Him for everything. Of course, we can enjoy foods like mango sherbet or fatty cheeseburgers, but constantly depending on food and overeating (gluttony) is bad. Next time you go to an awesome Chinese buffet, watch your motives for overeating.

Another point I wanted to add...
I have noticed that the more I grow closer to God, the better I take care of myself. Does anyone else notice that too? I believe that as we mature as Christians and allow God to live through us, we love more, and not just other people. Self-
love is important. Beware of selfishness and vanity, though and seeking to gratify the flesh.
Our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own,20 You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.

The more we get to know God and let Him live in us, the more we start to be like Him. I hope I have made sense to someone, because sometimes I can confuse myself. If I have misquoted anything, said anything not biblical, or if you just want to add something, please please please share any thoughts and bible verses on this topic. Thank you all!

I have no doubt you will have offended many with your broad generalizations about how and why people are overweight.

This all is somewhat out of context.
v.9 says if the Spirit is in you then you are not in the flesh. If the Spirit is not in you then you are in the flesh.
So this is talking about the difference between a regenerate Christian and a non Christian.

let's look at v.13

for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
(Rom 8:13)

okay, this gives the clue of what living after the flesh vs. Spirit is. Those who fight their battles in their own strength (see also Rom 7) will fail, but if by His strength and grace (the Spirit) etc. (This is God's work in the regenerate believer).

the same principle holds in vss 4-5

that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
(Rom 8:4-5)

How this unpacks is if you are struggling with food or any compulsion, it is not going to do any good to apply sheer will power (as you can see in Romans 7) ...that would be efforts of the flesh, but rather go to God, seek help and mercy (Heb 4:16), and rely on His power and wisdom(Holy Spirit) to see you through...He is the Sanctifier.

Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need. (Heb 4:16)

Dang...I ate some ice cream because it did feel good to eat it. I guess I need to repent.

But you basically said people are overweight because of food...which is not the case. Gluttony is a sin, yes, but some people just eat the wrong food sometime and not a glutton.

Don't stereotype please.

I too think the OP is painting a pretty wide brush with her statements. Most people are overweight because they eat too much and don't move enough - there are medical exceptions. Some of those people who eat too much do so because they are substituting food for something they are missing like love. Others are using food to sooth themselves because they experienced some sort of trauma like sexual abuse. Most overweight people would benefit from some sort of counseling to figure out why they are eating too much. For the record, I think many people in general could benefit from some counseling. I am currently seeing a Christian counselor. While I could lose a few pounds, I am not overweight.

Being overweight or obese is simply due to ingesting to much energy (food, ie kcals) and expending little (exercising), ie input exceeds output and so it is stored as "fat"!

Being overweight or obese is RARELY caused by medical conditions!

The only problem with being over weight is that people can see your struggle. Trust me, other Christians have bigger struggles in their mind and spirit than you have with your weight. Especially if they judge you for it.

Kefa

I guess all I can say is pftttttt. The problem with being overweight isn't what you eat. It is all about what is eating at you.

Kefa

Dream on fellow!

Again I say PFFFFTTTT!

hey, start showing some sympathy for all those people with medical conditions that cause weight gain. my ex mother in law had a severe thyroid problem ..... thats what she said anyway. if it was true then her thyroid gland must have weighed at least 90 or a hundred pounds.

Hypothyroidism, cushings disease, depression, chronic stress, certain types of ovarian cancer can all cause weight gain. Then there are the medications that people have to take that also cause weight gain.

I am not trying to make excuses for all obese/overweight people. Just trying to get you to see that not all people are overweight only due to over eating/lack of exercise.

Blessings

I know that all these things apply, all the things that are spoken of in this post. There is also people judging others over their weight when God asks us not to do that, and feeling guilty about our weight when we are to take our guilt to Christ and walk away from our sin and completely accept His forgiveness, but I would like to concentrate on how the Lord directs us away from some things that could cause the weight gain.

There ARE times that we could be helped with our weight by putting on the mind of Christ. We need to encourage each other and help each other do that.

That isn't speaking about the health problems some have. That is a separate subject.

There are many factors to this topic why someone carries weight. It's not all black and white and we should be loving one another and not judging them or their condition.

It is true that God wants us to take care of our temples (bodies). They are the only ones we have till He comes to take us to be with Him and will then give us new ones! Till then, we are to take care of the ones we have.

Some of the healthiest people in America are overweight. There are various reasons and people do need to have compassion for them. God calls us to help people, not sit around and judge them all day. God is love. Where is the love in that?

The spiritual is better than the physical. He tells us so. You think He's going to keep people out of
Heaven because they carry weight? That would be a pretty superficial view of God and I know the God I love and serve is a gentle, loving, and kind God. He knows them better than anybody else ever will in this lifetime; so let's leave the judging to God, Himself and focus on loving our neighbors as ourselves, as He calls us to and only look to be of help to them that is only uplifting, edifying and encouraging as He tells us to as well.

If you have found or know of something that might help, present it to them in a loving fashion. Love them unconditionally as the Father has loved us.

Praise God He didn't judge us all day long and condemn, or tear us down. That He loved us enough to lay His life down for us, just as we should be doing for others...

...and we didn't even deserve it!