Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Abundance
MMI:
Health, and particularly behavioral health issues (smoking, obesity, etc...) have become obsessions in this country - to the point of being idols. So what is the church doing? Why capitalizing on the latest idol - "Come to church, get skinny!"
Come on people, I more than most understand issue associated with weight (Lost 200 pounds, remember) but there are weight issues and then there are weight issues. Let's consider three categories:
1) Monstrous - that's what I used to be - While I did not suffer from many of the typical associated ailments (diabetes, high blood pressure) my joint pain was intolerable. I was a burden to my wife and those I loved simply becasue of the limited mobility. THIS IS AN ISSUE - there are acute an immediate ramifications here.
2) Plump - this is the average person in this day and age - they may live a few years less than the skinny alternative, but when you consider the grossly increased life span we enjoy these days don;t see this as an issue, unless...
3) You have to live longer because I am paying for you health care. And herein is the real issue. Are we really going to make a spiritual issue out of something so blatantly materialistic?
Personally I think there is some to be said for living in gratitude for the abundance God has given us, and if that means a few extra pounds, so be it.
In one study of some 5,500 women and men ages 45 to 84, participants were more likely to be obese the more religiously active they were. Each step of the way, from those never attending worship to those attending weekly, greater religious activity was associated with significantly higher rates of obesity.Here's a factor no one considers - people of faith are less concerned about living forever so they don't work so hard at doing so.
The integral role food plays in many religious rituals and social functions and a desire not to stigmatize overweight members are among the reasons researchers offer for this anomaly in findings related to religion and health.
Health, and particularly behavioral health issues (smoking, obesity, etc...) have become obsessions in this country - to the point of being idols. So what is the church doing? Why capitalizing on the latest idol - "Come to church, get skinny!"
Come on people, I more than most understand issue associated with weight (Lost 200 pounds, remember) but there are weight issues and then there are weight issues. Let's consider three categories:
1) Monstrous - that's what I used to be - While I did not suffer from many of the typical associated ailments (diabetes, high blood pressure) my joint pain was intolerable. I was a burden to my wife and those I loved simply becasue of the limited mobility. THIS IS AN ISSUE - there are acute an immediate ramifications here.
2) Plump - this is the average person in this day and age - they may live a few years less than the skinny alternative, but when you consider the grossly increased life span we enjoy these days don;t see this as an issue, unless...
3) You have to live longer because I am paying for you health care. And herein is the real issue. Are we really going to make a spiritual issue out of something so blatantly materialistic?
Personally I think there is some to be said for living in gratitude for the abundance God has given us, and if that means a few extra pounds, so be it.
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