Skinny Jeans...Does It Really Matter?

My Skinny Jeans - Before

My Skinny Jeans - Now

Whenever I would see those weight loss before & after pics in magazines, I longed to be one of those people. Now that I've been on this journey, I'm starting to ask myself, "Does size really matter?" What is the ideal size? Is it a 4 or a 6? Maybe it's an 8 or a 12? The world has many opinions about size, but what does the Bible say?

Well, there are many references to a person's physical appearance in the Bible. For example, Sarai, Rebekah, and Rachel were all said to be, "beautiful in appearance" (Genesis 12:11, 24:16, 29:17). Likewise, Joseph, Saul, and David were described as, "handsome" (Genesis 39:6, I Sam 9:2, 16:12). However, the Word does not say how much any of them weighed. Obviously, the specific number is not important. On the contrary, God is very clear on what is important. When Samuel was searching for a king for Israel, God told him, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart" (1 Sam 16:7).

Therefore, it's all a matter of the heart. When I've been asked what my goal weight or size is, I always respond with, "I don't have one." My goal on this journey is to glorify God with my eating and my view of food. It's not about being skinny or fat. I guess I can say that my goal size is whatever size I end up as a result of glorifying God with my eating and being satisfied in Him alone. God is concerned with whether I'm loving Him with all my heart, soul, and mind (Matt. 22:37).

On my journey, here are a few heart questions that I have to often ask myself. They help me to focus on glorifying God as oppose to focusing on weight.

1) Do I feel comfortably satisfied or terribly stuffed when I finish eating? See 1 Cor 10:31.

2) Do I immediately turn to God in times of despair, anxiety, guilt, or boredom OR Do I turn to food? See 1 Peter 5:7 & Phil 4:6-7.

3) Do I allow myself to eat certain "off my diet" foods for the sake of showing love to others? For example, a neighbor prepares cinnamon rolls for your visit. This actually happened to me at the start of my journey. Even though cinnamon rolls weren't part of my daily diet, I ate one for the sake of kindness towards my neighbor. See 1 Cor 10:23-30.

4) Does my daily way of eating promote health, strength, and energy in order to care for my family, manage my home, serve the church, and help others? I learned from the start that certain foods serve as fuel so that I can be energized to serve while other foods weigh me down and cause me to feel sluggish, tired, and irritable. Now I know that McDonald's extra value meals for lunch definitely do not serve as fuel:-). See 1 Peter 4:10-11.

5) Am I willing to give up eating a meal each week or fasting for an entire day in order to have a weekly reminder that "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4)? What greater way to show that Christ solely satisfies your soul than by denying yourself daily bread in order to feast on the Bread of life! See John 6:26-27.

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. Romans 6:17-18