Thursday, August 25, 2022

Following Social Norms vs. Freedom in Christ

In chapter five of my book, The Art of Believing I wrote about how as a society, we conform to the social norms which are around us; we imitate what is fashionable, or strive to make a certain amount of money to be successful, popular, etc. Many of these norms are neither here nor there but some of them are not founded in truth based on the Scriptures and can cause us much harm.  

For many years, I struggled with low self-esteem and insecurity due to a poor body image. Media and BMI charts don't help either in determining where our true value comes from.

One day while I was lamenting over gaining a few pounds, a friend of mine told me about a very helpful podcast she listened to about the subject called, Woven in Truth/Body Image with Guest Speaker Patty Mata. After listening to it, I felt like my eyes were opened and I began the healing process of listening to and taking care of my body's needs for rest, movement, and food and have finally found the road to freedom.

Below are a couple of articles I found on the subject that was interesting:

According to Pamela Najjar of Holistic Nutrition, The Japanese have the wisdom to keep pleasure as one of their goals of healthy living. In our compulsion to comply with diet culture, we often overlook one of the most basic gifts of existence—the pleasure and satisfaction that can be found in the eating experience. When you eat what you really want, in an environment that is inviting, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content. By providing this experience for yourself, you will find that it takes just the right amount of food for you to decide you’ve had “enough.”

And also, in an article from WebMD and peer-reviewed by Louise Chang, MD, Salynn Boyles reported the following: "In a newly published study, underweight people and those who were extremely obese died the earliest. People who were overweight, but not obese, actually lived longer than people whose weight was considered normal, based on body mass index (BMI)."

"The research is not the first to suggest that those who carry a little, but not too much, extra weight tend to survive longer than people who don't. CDC researchers found the same thing in a widely reported study published in 2005. And last month a separate group of investigators reported that overweight heart patients live longer than lean ones."

Thankfully, we can rest assured because God's Word says we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), we are made in His image (Genesis 1:27) and He does not look at outward appearances but at the heart (1Samuel 16:7). 

Have you ever felt insecure because you didn't fit in with a certain social norm? Is the social norm founded in Scripture? What will you do to think differently about this?
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