Episode 4 : Body Image Lie: The world tells us that we need to look a certain way in order to be “pretty” AND simultaneously the world tells us that we need to consider not caring to be “beautiful” Truth: God created each one of us uniquely in His image AND we are to care for our bodies as if they are His and not our own We need to look a certain way to be “pretty” Q: What are some ways that you’ve felt the world tell you how you’re supposed to look? Let’s break this down… let’s be real here. Most of the time we see models that are skinny, well-figured with long beautiful hair, perfect skin, tan, and wearing a ton of makeup. Is there anything wrong with being skinny or having a good figure or having beautiful hair, perfect skin, being tan, wearing makeup? Absolutely not. If you possess any or all of these things - cool! This is not a podcast to rip anyone up. This is an episode to combat lies that the world tells us with Scripture. Sadly when we see a picture of a model we IMMEDIATELY begin comparing ourselves to that model and we slowly tear down any confidence we had in ourselves. Does the world really care about how we compare ourselves to others? Q: Classifying “the world” as those who are without a direct relationship with Christ, how would you describe how the world values our bodies? We IMMEDIATELY forget Who created us and not only that, but after Whose image we’re created to look like. When we compare ourselves to a beautiful model that’s plastered all over branding for a product or experience or whatever we are comparing ourselves to what the world’s standard is for beauty and not God’s. 2. What’s God’s standard for beauty? Well, all of us. Each one of us is uniquely designed by a creative Designer and the example He used when He created us was Himself and that’s AWESOME. Q: How does it change our perspective when we view ourselves as God’s handiwork? “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”Genesis 1:27 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”Genesis 9:6 “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”Psalm 139:14 “When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.”Genesis 5:1b When we criticize ourselves for the way that we look we are not only criticizing our Designer for His work, but we are criticizing the way that God Himself looks. Let’s be real - we have ALL struggled with self-confidence in how we look in some way, shape, or form. Even the prettiest among us has struggled with self-confidence in some aspect. We have all stood in the mirror and frowned as we look ourselves over, carefully studying every detail to find some area for fault or imperfection. God is the source of all design, creativity, and beauty. He defines beauty. He gave us so many gorgeous places to see on earth. That same Designer designed you. 3. The world also tells us at the exact same time that we’re supposed to just accept ourselves as we are whether we are caring for our bodies or not. I’m not saying that the new Barbie dolls that have some reality to their figures are bad nor am I saying that the shift that we are seeing in our culture to not write off anyone who isn’t perfectly skinny isn’t healthy or beautiful. What I’m saying is that we should be aware of walking into the hole of “letting things go” and not caring for our bodies the way that they should be cared for. There’s a fine line between being content with how God created us and calling ourselves beautiful as we are and not properly caring for our bodies the way that we need to be. Q: What would you say the biggest difference between when the world tells us to “love ourselves” versus when God says that is? 4. Since we are created in God’s image we need to remember that we do not own our bodies but we are to steward them. The difference between ownership and stewardship is ownership is caring for something that belongs to you and stewardship is caring for something that belongs to God. At the end of the day, everything we have belongs to God since He’s the One Who gave us the ability to do our job and blessed us with the job we have in order to live in our homes, drive our cars, and so on and so forth. That’s for another episode. But what I mean specifically here is that we are to steward our bodies well since they do not belong to us but to God. He’s the Designer and is allowing us to occupy them while we are here on earth. Having an eternal perspective on everything puts everything into perspective. Q: Why do you think we forget so easily that everything we’ve been blessed with, including our bodies, is a gift from God? “Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for ...
