I’ve tried to cheat myself thin and sadly, it never worked. Apple cider vinegar (as great as it is) will not make you thin. Weight loss shakes will not necessarily make you thin. Supplements will not make you thin.
Now I’m learning the only consistent way to lose weight is the hard way – the narrow road. You have to have discipline, be active, be careful about what you’re putting into your body, and most of all you need to stick at it.
These truths are also changing the way I view my spiritual journey. I can see a lot of similarities between taking care of my body and taking care of my relationship with Christ.
You reap what you sow (Galatians Chapter 6, verse 7)
CICO stands for Calories In, Calories Out. If you’re putting lots of excess calories into your body, it’s likely going to be added to your body mass. You need to have those calories go back out again, exerted through exercise.
When you put spiritual truths into your mind (truth in), you will have energy. You need then to exert that truth which is why missions and evangelism is healthy for us spiritually.
If you put junk into your mind, however, it will engorge you and weigh you down with no productive use for the Kingdom. Just like junk in the body makes you fat, junk in the soul makes you more ungodly and less Christlike.
Purification (purge) (2 Timothy Chapter 2, verse 21)
It’s sometimes good for our body to do a fast, particularly a water fast because the water can take all the toxins out of our body and make us feel fresh again. This is a purging of our system, and spiritually we’re meant to do the same to get the junk out of us.
God’s word is like water. It quenches our spiritual thirst and is essential for purging our minds of all the worldly trash that we pick up along our lives. Taking time out to let the words of the Bible renew us is the only way to get our priorities refocused and purge us from ungodly thoughts.
It all comes from the head (Ephesians Chapter 5, verse 23)
Christ is the head of the church body. We have a brain which directs our body. We have to listen to our mind as we won’t be able to get healthy without it – the battle, like most, is won and lost in the mind.
Your attitude towards food and activity is either helping or hindering you. It takes discipline to turn habits around and you need to practice good habits. This is why we should have the mind of Christ, which directs our habits spiritually as we aim to be like him.
If you don’t do the work understanding how your body works, your mind probably won’t know how to make good choices for your health. You need a knowledgeable mind, and one free from pride which can realise where you have a problem.
If it’s worth doing...
Everything worth doing, is difficult. As Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said: “consistent hard work leads to success.” Consistency is key and if you want something, you fight for it.
I don’t want to see my thighs jiggle when I walk, so I’m going to fight to change.
I don’t want to forget my sensitivity to the Holy Spirit in my life, so I’m going to fight to stay close to God.
Do you want to be healthy – both spiritually and physically enough to fight for it?
Bridget Brenton is involved in Aboriginal and Islander based ministries, and enjoys tech stuff like making websites and making games (www.christianvisualnovel.com) in her spare time.
Bridget Brenton’s previous articles may be viewed at: http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/bridget-brenton.html