People love to watch and participate in sporting events. At times, the players can be so determined to win that losing is a painful experience which brings tears to their eyes. Even if we are not active participants, we can still be very competitive about our favorite teams. More than one friendship has ended because of an argument about who is the best basketball player or football player. Likewise, many parents set horrible examples for their children by becoming belligerent with referees or other parents during a child’s game.
Sporting events are not the only areas where we compete against each other. We do it at work by comparing ourselves and our salaries to a colleague’s. We do it at church by comparing our spiritual gifts and the number of lives we impact with a fellow church member’s gifts and influence. Moreover, we compete with others in terms of our physical appearance. Women are especially adept at making a head-to-toe comparison of another woman in contrast to themselves, especially when we go to the gym.
In fact, competition is so commonplace in our society that we hardly realize we are doing it. We compare things as quickly and easily as we do people, and frequently our snap judgments are dead wrong. Nevertheless, we continue to do it, and more often than not, the person who does not measure up to our standards is none other than ourselves. For example, the lady who rolls her eyes and says about another woman, “She thinks she’s cute,” does so because she feels inferior to the female she referred to. She has no idea that the lady in question is also insecure, comparing herself to the other women in the room, and secretly afraid that everyone will stare at her.
This mentality touches every part of a person’s life and hinders success, especially when it comes to health and fitness. Many people will not go to the gym or to the neighborhood track because they do not believe they look as good as someone else in workout clothes. Others will not go because they are afraid of being stared at and talked about by the skinny, healthy looking people. However, they do not realize the enemy will continue to use this strategy against them in order to keep them ensnared by eating disorders or overweight and on their way to contracting an obesity related disease.
The truth is the only person who matters is you. Have you ever been a healthy body size and weight? Do you want to become free of an eating disorder and be healthy again? If you have never been a healthy weight and size, would you like to finally experience it? Then get tunnel vision and forget about what everyone around you does or looks like. Very often what you perceive as health and fitness is merely a façade. Instead, focus on the image of you that you want to become and trust God to help you achieve your goal!If you are willing to stop competing against others and focus on obtaining your health and fitness goals through Christ, purchase your copies of the Eating as an Act of Worship Workbook and the Eating as an Act of Worship Teacher’s Edition online today at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. In the books, you will learn the biblical principles regarding the body, dieting, exercising, and maintaining a healthy body for the glory of God. Read our weekly blog for motivation to stay healthy and fit through Christ. Follow us daily on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for recipes, and diet and exercise tips. Tune in to our syndicated radio show on iTunes, Spotify the DFW Den Radio Station, the StudioW Buzz Radio Station, and Victory KVDW 100.9 FM, 95.3 FM, and 1530 AM in Little Rock, Arkansas for interviews and health and fitness trends. Lastly, make your tax-deductible donation to Eating as an Act of Worship Ministries at www.eatingasanactofworshipministries.org!
