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The Pastoral Lens
You Are What Eats You
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
Back in my early days of elementary school, we were taught about the importance of eating right for good health. The slogan that we learned, which is still quite popular today, is this: "You are what you eat." I believe that to be true for the most part. I have always had an interest in both good nutrition and physical fitness. The two go hand in hand when it comes to overall good health. Nevertheless, I find a different slogan to be even more true as it pertains to the whole person, not just the physical body: "You are what eats you."Let me back up a bit here. I was watching a little television on a Saturday afternoon recently, trying to find something to eat cereal to. I stumbled first across an infomercial touting the benefits of a miraculous 90-day fitness program. Testimonies galore came across the screen of those who had gone from "fat to fit" in the prescribed 3-month time period. But it didn‚t stop there, and what followed was what really caught my attention. Several of the successful participants shared how they had gotten their lives back, how people started to speak to them now that they were in a more "presentable" form. One after another, with tear-stained face and breaking voice, testified how they had come back to life through completion of the program. I was grieved as I pondered the fact that our society has preached a shallow message of what constitutes a person's self-worth.
In disgust, I switched to a different station, to what I thought was a good sports show. Instead, it was some lady hawking a product, which could be obtained with 4 easy payments on your credit card, that would transform your abysmal body into a thing of beauty within a mere week. Again, as in the former infomercial, the screen was filled with those bragging of how many inches they lost in just one week of using this product. The dolled-up lady advertising this miraculous piece of exercise equipment cleverly implied that one's self-worth could be buoyed up with the help of this device.
Now, my wife and I don't battle the bulge, but we're not Superman and Wonderwoman, either! We learned a long time ago that a person's worth does not depend on the latest styles, the slimmest waistline, or the classiest coiffure. The Lord has already declared our infinite worth in Psalm 139:13-15: "For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth."
If you're reading this article today and have felt the sting of society's lie, that your worth is measured by your weight, then take heart. To the Lord, nothing could be further from the truth. Don't let what others think be something that will keep eating you. Just take a dose of the Psalm 139 medicine to get the truth of God's Word. Have a blessed week!
