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Being Skinny Is Not a Christian Virtue
"Can a husband tell his wife he wants her to lose weight?" our friend Andrew asked, describing how his friend had recently sent his marriage into a tailspin by suggesting his wife could shed some pounds.
"What was his motivation?" I prodded. "His wife's health or her appearance?"
"Both, probably," Andrew admitted.
It's true that conflicted motivations often stand behind our dieting kicks and New Year's resolutions to exercise and lose weight. Despite recognizing today's obsession with beauty and youth and offering our own pronouncements against the culture of thin, we're often motivated to diet and exercise for no better reason than to get skinny and stay there.
A "hegemony of thin bodies" presides in society, perpetuating a stigma against being fat, Lisa Ann Cockrel wrote here at Her.meneutics. "The fear of fat is not the fear of death or even illness," she said. "It is the fear of life shadowed by the pity and contempt of one's neighbors."
Obviously, trying to lose weight (or insisting our spouse should) simply because we crave the approval that skinny brings is not a theologically tenable goal. But maybe we could agree that skinny was healthier, and wouldn't improving physical health be a scripturally defensible reason for keeping our fitness resolutions this year?
The Bible again and again affirms the practice of caring for our bodies (1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 6:19, 20; 1 Tim. 4:8), but we can't be so quick to defend skinny as a Christian virtue. Rather, new research is countering conventional wisdom that says skinny equals healthy and cared-for.
Not only is it possible to be overweight and still be healthy, it's possible to be skinny and unhealthy. Skinny and sedentary may not be shame-inducing, but it's certainly not good for us, either.
I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I've sworn my own tacit allegiance to the culture of thin. Despite the compelling scientific evidence that exercise improves the quality of our lives, in recent years I've failed to exercise regularly until now because I've always managed to stay skinny enough.
"We are teleological creatures. We are the sorts of animals whose love is aimed at different ends or goals (Greek: teloi)," wrote James K. A. Smith in Desiring the Kingdom. "Rather than being pushed by beliefs, we are pulled by a telos that we desire."
In other words, what we do is based less on what we know to be true and more on what we want. In my case with fitness, I have long had the right information about the benefits of exercise, but until recently, it has failed to motivate me to action. I have needed to repent, not just of what I'd failed to do but what I'd allowed myself to love. And I, too, have loved skinny.
Auditing America's Political Integrity
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Comments
Jared White
I agree that there is a major misconception that "skinny" or "thin" equals being healthy. It's easy for people to justify what are really vain pursuits with trying to being "healthy," but doing so can lead to practices that are actually unhealthy and result in depression and low-self esteem. I think it's important to get a firm grounding in our identity in Christ and really search out why we are pursuing "health." The right reasons will lead to abundant life! -Jared White
carlene byron
As one of my writing clients sells clothing from India and Pakistan, I've been entertained to discover that their fashion blogs offer tips for how the "too thin" woman can dress to appear womanly. And of course, we all caught the December blog uproar when an century old NYTimes piece resurfaced describing a 1912 Cornell student as the "perfect woman" -- a basketball player, fond of steak, 5'7 and 171 pounds. She lived to age 91, supporting the "obesity paradox" -- that some studies find people who are overweight (by today's standards) but not obese live longer than skinnies. Of course today's standards are only about 30 years old ... All of which just goes to say: run, run, as fast as you can. But never believe a mirror that says you're anything but the most beautiful woman of them all.
Rachel Stephan Simko
I've dealt for YEARS with body image issues, and it was only through my first pregnancy that God released me from a lot of the idols I was clinging to. In the last few years, I've grown to love exercise for its challenges and the energy it gives me. It's become less about "getting thin" and more about a way of life. Exercise is one of my hobbies, and if I'm not moving consistently, it really affects my emotional state. Another thing I've come to terms with is having the right understanding of food. Food is meant to be enjoyed, but it's also meant to nourish. And in America, we have a very skewed view of HOW MUCH we need. I've stopped dieting and have just started focusing on what makes sense to fuel my body (with, yes, an occasional gluten-free cupcake now and then). (evenonesparrow.blogspot.com)
Luisa Rodriguez
Excellent article! I also think that this love for "skinny" has spilled over into the discussion about children's health. There is a great push now to fight childhood obesity and the focus seems to be on kids' fatness instead of their health. I see so many "skinny" kids eat only chicken nuggets and pizza who are by no means healthier than a kid that is overweight. I talk about this on a recent blog that I wrote (http://www.fruitful-living.net/2013/01/how-to-teach-kids-about-food.html#. UQFN5qVVhD0). As you say, we should be pushing to be healthier (having vitality and keeping disease and illness away) and not skinny.
Dan Richardson
I question whether wanting to be thin because one thinks it makes them look better is a goal not worthy of pursuing. My questions for anyone who feels like their objective is to be 100% spiritual in this pursuit; do you wear make up, comb your hair or use deodorant? If so, why? These three activities have not proven to lengthen life so you can witness longer for The Lord.
Marie Gregg
Great, great post. I flirted with anorexia in high school (only by the grace of God did I not become very ill) and graduated with far too little weight on my 5'7" frame. And yet my friends told me, all the time, that I looked good. 11 years later, I am now at a much better weight, but my relationship to food and exercise hasn't improved. I definitely needed this reminder that "healthy" doesn't look the same on each person.
Jenn Wright
As a fully-delivered bulimic-anorexic, and now, 20 years later, as a less-than-healthy, relatively "skinny" IV-nutrition-dependent patient [the two issues not being related], I have learned that skinny is not the goal: HEALTH is. We need to care for our bodies so that Christ can use us as effectively as possible. But when motivations are mixed, we need to consciously and intentionally pause to examine, discern, and draw a clear line around between the often dichotomous goals of vanity and fitness.
Tim Fall
Good points about fitness and our theological pursuits, Jen. From now on I am going to say that my fitness (or lack thereof) is due to my teleology. True or not, few will be able to refute it! And as for fitness helping out in old age, all I know is that my 89 year old father is still taking walks down at the beach most days, just as he has since retiring over a quarter century ago. Cheers, Tim (timfall.wordpress.com)
JANET W
I absolutely agree that "skinny" is in no way equal to health. In fact, in my profession, I deal with dying patients, and at death, the vast majority are little more than skin and bones. We should strive for healthy rather than skinny. Healthy usual equates more with physical activity than with body weight, in my experience.
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