I love what God is doing...

Like the title of this post says, I love what God is doing in my life right now. You may ask, "What exactly is he doing Matthew?" Well I'm glad you asked, he is convicting me and opening my eyes up to sin that has been in my life for a long time, but I have failed to notice it for what it is, sin. Praise God, He has brought me victory over one of my biggest sins (see last post). However, in my time in His Word and in through the conviction of the Holy Spirit he has opened my eyes to not only am I fat which is something I have known for a while, but He's opened my eyes to the fact that this is a stewardship issue.

The fact that this is a stewardship issue is something has never crossed my mind before. However, I was reading in 1 Corinthians 6 the other day and ran across this verse:

“[19] Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, [20] for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
(1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV)

Now, I've read this verse a million times it seems and because it is in a passage having to do with sexual issues, have either never put it together with weight loss and gluttony or at least never put those together with being a stewardship issue. This is not the only verse that there is, there is the one in Philippians that says:

“[19] Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”
(Philippians 3:19 ESV)

Now I can't speak for all fat people, (yes, I know that fat is not the "pc" term, but it's the truth, and our sugar coating it into terms like overweight and chunky or whatever term you want to use is what keeps us thinking it’s OK. Morbidly obese is a term that might be more helpful because it hits a little harder at the severity of the issue) but in the majority of cases I know and especially me, food became a comfort and therefore became an idol, not that life was terrible or anything, but it tasted good, and it was enjoyable and in that I found satisfaction and fulfillment instead of in Christ.

The reason this is an issue other than it being an issue of idolatry is like I mentioned earlier, stewardship. It’s important that we take care of our bodies, because if we do not then we cannot be the best representation of Christ possible. This is especially important for those of us in ministry. In 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27 Paul says,

“[24] Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. [25] Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. [26] So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. [27] But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

(1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ESV)

In this passage Paul uses the analogy of an athlete training for a race and compares that to the Christian running the race of life. He says several key things in this passage. First, is that we should run to receive the prize. This means we should be like the ones in the front of the pack, not those who are content to run in the middle of the pack and just finish. We are not called to just finish, but to win. The next thing that Paul says that we should exercise self-control in all things, this is the key to it all. This is the key to the issue of porn and lust, this is the key to weight loss, and this is also the key to drinking, as he says all things. This ties in well with what he says in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “[31] So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV) It is very hard to do anything to the glory of God when it gets to the excess of drunkenness or obesity. This is one thing that has been lacking in my life for a long time, and while it is self-control it is very much a God thing. I can’t do any of this on my own, only through God and through a steady diet of His Word will I be able to control my diet.

Although all Paul says in this verse is important, the thing that hits me the hardest is verse 27. Ministers, it is only through our actions that we can give validation to our words. We can’t stand up behind our pulpits and preach about issues like idolatry when “our god is our belly”. This is especially bad in the South where we have perfected the art of the deep fryer and sweet tea. As this passage from an article recently published in the Texan shows we do not put as much emphasis on this as we should, for many of us it is indeed life and death:

“The harsh reality is that Southern Baptists tilt the scale as the heaviest denomination in the country as revealed in a study published in 2006. And random health assessments administered by GuideStone, the financial services and insurance provider for the Southern Baptist Convention, to a degree, validate that finding. During the SBC’s annual meetings, GuideStone personnel routinely staff the Wellness Center, offering a mini-physical that includes a series of questions about health habits and measurements of weight, height, blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood-sugar levels. Of those who had the free screenings at the 2010 convention, 73 percent were considered overweight or obese by U.S. medical standards. That is compared to 68 percent of the general American population as outlined in a study published in the January edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.”

Men, as ministers and leaders of our churches and our families or in my case since I am single I have to think about my family one day, we have to get a handle on these vices. We can’t run the race if we can’t run at all. Paul said run, not walk. And as far as the issue I covered in my last post, to quote Perry Noble who is actually quoting Mark Driscoll, “it is incredible difficult to charge hell with our pants around our ankles…” I realize I am probably being crass there, but sometimes in order to get the point across you need to shock someone with the blunt truth.

Another key element, to success for both of these issues has to be accountability. Because, while we may be in total agreement with scripture and what others have said and shown in research if we don’t have someone continually calling us on it and helping us with it, it is easy to fall back into our old ways. Luckily I have accountability in my community group at my church here at seminary. I’ve got guys praying for me in both areas, but more than that I have guys who are willing to come into my life and help me fight both issues.

I hate to rip into a topic like this without giving some sort of hope, so here it is:

[12] Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. [13] No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. [14] Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

(1 Corinthians 10:12-14 ESV)

Please know that as I mentioned in my last post, I by no means have conquered these areas of my life so I too am a fellow struggler on the road to where God calls us to be. Feel free to email me: thomsontennis@gmail.com or leave a comment I would love to get some feedback.