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I have something I'd like to bring up as it was mentioned to me about 8 years ago from one of my ex-girlfriends. She was brought up in a scrict Southern Baptist household who believed that smoking/drinking was a sin. Both her parents were VERY overweight and made no attempts whatsoever to try and lose weight. Their opinion on why drinking/smoking was bad was because it damaged the body that God gave you and you were disrespecting God's creation. Now, how would God feel about people like her parents who did not drink/smoke because of that logic but made no attempts to lose weight, exercise, or even cut back on their caloric intake? I have always thought this was a ridiculous point of view given how many people who I have seen attending a Southern Baptist church that are overweight. I'm just throwing Southern Baptist out there because that was the religious organization I affiliated with this notion. I'm not trying to say that all people who attend these churches are overweight. The whole country seems to be overweight and atheist or christian alike we are still human and apparently still gain weight. How is this not damaging God's creation?
Location: Somewhere along the path to where I'd like to be.
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There can be legitimate medical reasons why people are overweight. Thyroid problems, diabetes, inability to exercise due to physical limitations, etc....
You are right. Being overweight is not really any different than smoking or drinking in excess. It is gluttony and can become a form of iodolatry in extreme cases. You do have to give weight (pardon the pun) to the fact that people can have medical problems which affect their weight as WCRob pointed out. All people including Christians have battles with sin in their life. The true Christian will love a person regardless of their sins and do what they can to meet the person's needs and help them overcome their sins.
There can be legitimate medical reasons why people are overweight. Thyroid problems, diabetes, inability to exercise due to physical limitations, etc....
WCRob, I understand those sorts of conditions. But, typically a lot of those conditions are brought on by improper diets and lack of exercise. We, in America, live a lifestyle of 72 oz. super gulp sodas, twinkies, fried food, and all kinds of other things. If you have ever watched Super Size Me you know exactly what I am talking about. It's our lifestyle and because it is that way I don't find people preaching against obesity. Now, I do also understand that there are certain genetic dispositions and people born with conditions but I'd be willing to be 85% of the obesity in this country could be knocked out with a good diet and good exercise.
There can be legitimate medical reasons why people are overweight. Thyroid problems, diabetes, inability to exercise due to physical limitations, etc....
But that clearly does not apply to ALL the people. I assure you MOST overweight people are fat because they're ...well, they're fat and lazy and they eat too much....sorry, no way around that.
There can be legitimate medical reasons why people are overweight. Thyroid problems, diabetes, inability to exercise due to physical limitations, etc....
Yes, but the other 95% of overweight people use these excuses as their own, even when they don't actually have any condition whatsoever.
Hey guys, I didn't say it applied to everyone! I said there CAN BE......
I was just making a comment.
Boy, this just isn't my night for saying anything right. Guess I'll hang it up and go to bed.
Haha its all right WCRob, what you said was something that had to be said before the thread any further. Naturally, people would think that the OP was talking about the other 95% who really didn't have any condition at all but just used a "condition" as a scapegoat for their own gluttony. You are right though, in that special conditions should be taken into account. Don't be discouraged! You took one for the team and stepped up to be "that guy" in this thread :P
I agree...gluttony and therefore obesity is technically a sin. And, unfortunately, I am one of the overweight ones . Am I going to make an excuse for it? NO! My only CLOSE legitimate excuse is my lifestyle! I've had 4 kids, dealt with depression in the past and have ultimately made bad food choices etc. Don't get me wrong, I don't weight 300+ pounds, but I AM overweight none the less . Even when I watch what I eat, I can keep myself from gaining weight, but have a VERY HARD time LOSING weight . It really sucks!
Personally, I think obesity is a "sin" and a problem for millions of Christians just as it is for non-Christians .
However, this thread does kind of bring another question to mind...
If obesity is a sin because it is harmful to the body, would you think that weight loss surgery would also be as much of a sin because we are failures at not being able to lose the weight on our own (with the help of God) or would it be looked at as simply a HELP and a step in the right direction
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You know, gluttony is gluttony whether the person is overweight or skinny as a bean pole. I've seen just as many skinny people at church potlucks with heaping plates of food as I've seen fat ones. The skinny ones are just blessed with a metabolism that deals with the extra calories better. I've also known plenty of overweight people who actually live a far healthier lifestyle than thin ones.
First, I think we need to be very careful about identifying people's "sin" by sight only. If we don't know the whole story, it's best to reserve judgment. Something about taking the log out of our own eyes first...
Second, there's already been great answers from the Christian perspective, so I'm not going to repeat those. However, some Christians may be overweight out of ignorance. It could be ignorance of Scriptural principles; quite honestly, many Christians don't read their Bibles and, therefore, won't come under conviction about this issue. The preacher doesn't have a problem delivering sermons about issues the Bible identifies as abominations (and Christians don't mind hearing them), but if the preacher starts in on gluttony, he will probably make blanket (and often ignorant) statements about obesity without extending grace to those who truly try to exhibit control in this area. This causes resentment in the church.
Ignorance can also stem from lack of medical and/or nutritional training. Those who do try to educate themselves will be faced with every known diet in the world and will also read conflicting articles/books about proper nutrition and exercise. Some are sound; some are quackery. What works for one person will not work for another; yet, "conventional" wisdom takes a cookie cutter approach to diet, nutrition, and exercise.
Past issues can also be part of the ignorance. Women who have taken the pill are often unable to lose weight; is it screwing up the thyroid? Trans fat is an issue that has only recently come to public awareness, yet most people have been stuffing their bodies with it for years. Plus, it's hard to avoid! What about high fructose corn syrup? It's also hard to avoid! Food allergies are a large cause of weight gain, but since the individual is not violently sick, he never even suspects that the "good" food he is eating may be the problem. Many of these people will try diet and exercise to no avail.
And, then, there's upbringing. Most people tend to eat the food that Mom and Dad always fixed. While it might taste great, it might not be nutritionally sound. Don't forget that we were taught to always clean our plates; that's a habit that's hard to break. Household rules need to change so that children (and adults) can quit eating when they're full. Since dessert is often held as a reward for cleaning the plate, children will eat all their food to get the really good stuff. Most parents don't realize what a reasonable portion is for children (especially toddlers) and will, therefore, overfeed the kids before dessert is even offered. It's just as possible to get fat on "healthy" food as it is on fast food. This is definitely an area that can be easily fixed by learning about portion control and healthy choices, and teaching it to our children at an early age.
Furthermore, with our busy lifestyles (and some churches are great at keeping people busy!), convenience is often the name of the game. Convenience foods are rarely conducive to proper nutrition. Even when one tries, it's difficult to find healthy selections without experiencing food fatigue (meaning a person is always eating the same "healthy" food because that's the only choice on the menu). That gets old really fast!
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. Am I going to make an excuse for it? NO! My only CLOSE legitimate excuse is my lifestyle! I've had 4 kids, dealt with depression in the past and have ultimately made bad food choices etc. Don't get me wrong, I don't weight 300+ pounds, but I AM overweight none the less 
. Even when I watch what I eat, I can keep myself from gaining weight, but have a VERY HARD time LOSING weight 
. It really sucks! 
