Unpacking Truths

Does God Care if We Are "Out of Shape?”

LOC Church Season 1 Episode 10

Submit a Question!

✝️ Unpacking Truths: Episode 010: Does God Care if We Are "Out of Shape?”

Welcome to Unpacking Truths, where we delve deep into God's Word and His truth for life's everyday questions. In Episode 010, titled "Does God Care if We Are 'Out of Shape'?" 🏋️‍♂️, Pastor Kendall and Pastor Moe navigate the intersection of physical health and spiritual well-being.

Join them as they explore the idea that while God desires us to honor our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, physical appearance should not become an obsession. Drawing insights from scripture and personal experiences, they discuss the importance of moderation, self-discipline, and gratitude in maintaining both physical and spiritual health.

Discover how individuals like Joni Erickson Tada exemplify the profound impact one can make despite physical limitations. Through anecdotes, biblical references, and candid conversations, Kendall and Moe encourage listeners to embrace a holistic approach to health, recognizing that true wellness encompasses more than just outward appearances.

From the pitfalls of gluttony to the wisdom of moderation, this episode provides practical insights and spiritual perspectives on living a balanced life that honors God.

Join the conversation by sharing your thoughts in the comments section. What foods or practices have helped you maintain physical health while drawing closer to God? Your insights could inspire others on their journey of faith and fitness.

Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe to Unpacking Truths as we continue unpacking God's truth for life's complexities. Stay tuned for our next episode, where we explore the transformative power of forgiveness and love in our relationships.

For more information or to share your questions, email us at unpackingtruths@locchurch.com.

Thank you for tuning in, and may you find hope and power in God's Word as we journey together in faith.

#UnpackingTruths #FaithAndFitness #SpiritualWellness #HolisticHealth #ChristianPodcast #GodsWord #BodyAndSoul #JoniEricksonTada #BiblicalWisdom #HealthyLiving #FaithJourney #MindBodySpirit #BalanceIsKey #FaithInAction #WellnessJourney #ChristianLiving #ModerationMatters #Forgiveness #LoveInAction #HopeAndPower

Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more Unpacking Truths!

🎙️ Listen to Unpacking Truths on your favorite platforms:

✝️ Connect with Unpacking Truths:

😃 Connect with Unpacking Truths on Social Media:

does God care if we are in shape um yeah he wants us to use the bodies that we have but sometimes our bodies can't do a lot in in the world's view and yet we still can make an impact Joni Erickson Title made a much bigger impact in this world than I'm ever going to make and she was in a wheelchair for the majority of her adult life and so I think that's also the thing is god can use us whatever shape condition we're in yeah um either because of things we've done or accidents or just how we are born into this world God can use us are we and it's just how do we take care of our bodies so that we can be a blessing to others and so it I just thought of Joni's life and just what a blessing she was for so many and an inspiration for so many um it was just a beautiful thing work with what God gave you right like that's right hi I'm Pastor Kendall and I'm Pastor Moe and we are unpacking truths where we unpack God's Word and God's truth for life today everyone is seeking and we are here to help you find hope and power in God's work well I gotta ask you yeah who's come up with these crazy topics that we're talking about here oh what are you blaming me what are you I am blaming you it could it could pass you might not be off I might not be off at some point I want to get some of my questions in here too that I think people are asking because today's topic I don't know and we'll see um but the the topic that we have before us is does God care if we are out of shape oh this is not one that I came up with everyone well you know what I'm just trying to speak in under the bus I go ha ha ha yes I thought it was good and relevant because you know we live in a culture where people care so much about what they look like physically their health I mean it's it's a billion dollar business so why multi billion yeah right so yeah not 1 billion but so why should we not be talking about it and see what god has to say about our health being healthy what that looks like our bodies physically all that good stuff yeah I can't wait for you to say something that's going to get you in trouble I know that's what I'm afraid of it could get me in trouble so the but you're right I mean that is a dynamic clearly going on in society and it's some level you know let's look at it maybe start both personally but also scripturally because the in some ways that taking care of your body that is a driving force in our culture today there is some good scriptural guidance that where in 1st Corinthians were Paul says our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and so Paul is talking about that in the context if I'm not mistaken of that's why you're not supposed to um uh hire a prostitute you're connecting yourself with multiple other people but our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit of honoring this gift yeah of who we are of of the bodies that god has given us and so I think this challenges is how do we honor it without obsessing over it right and if I'm not mistaken I think in that specific piece of scripture goes on to say we are not our own right I think I have it right here we are not our own you've been bought at a price therefore honor god with your bodies and that was actually a pretty powerful verse for me as I started to change how I even perceived what it meant to be healthy right it went from looking a certain way physically to how I felt if I had more energy um and along those lines and just what does it look like no matter what I'm doing how am I honoring God with my body or not you know I think that's a great way of doing it because there is sort of that that shift you're talking about happen for you sort of that sense of how does the world see me yeah it it went from that how do I look to the world versus how do I keep who I am this tool this vehicle that god has given me to live in this life with how do I keep that working in a way that I can I have energy that I feel good about so what are some of the things that you do it as far as and do you think so let me ask you do you think God cares if we're out of shape I you know what actually I it oh cause okay maybe not what we consider out of shape according to American standards because I think I'm considered morbidly obese if I look at the height to weight skip base scale yeah I'm like oh wow I am not excelling in this but you know what it doesn't doesn't take into factor so many things bone density muscle mass like I mean who even came up with these charts like I don't I think doctors yeah you know I think you know maybe maybe some doctor they could doctors have come up with some crazy stuff let's be honest but yes well so I actually think that there is a deep connection between our spiritual well being and our health and our physical well being um because if if I'm not getting enough sleep if I'm not eating right if I'm eating too much like that all changes if I'm honoring God in my body or not because if I'm tired I'm probably more irritable I'm probably more forgetful or anxious or I you know I'm agitated um if I'm eating too much right especially the wrong kinds of food I found that like a lot of sugar a lot of sweets I get like a lethargic and my brain can't process and so I think that there there is a way that god wants us to honor honor him and everything we do right glorify him and everything we do and I don't think we could be used to the full capacity for which we've been created if we're not taking care of our temples right like our bodies because I mean we don't have the energy or the where with all or the you know stamina to do whatever it is we're being called to do you know I think there is such and and there's a lot of wisdom that we can learn through um to science today and sort of what our body needs there's all this talk on sleep I was just struck in in my own experience of this in my life the that that I tend to be either in a downward sort of spiral in an upward one so that sometimes the healthier um I start acting yeah the more I want healthy things in my life so yeah I just had this example yesterday I went um I thought you were gonna say like the healthier like you go like this and then you like turn your hand like you do a muscle thing no I was not saying that it's over there Connie don't do that too much but yesterday after church and had another gathering a new member gathering and then I went home and took my Sunday afternoon nap but then I went out for a bike ride and went out for that bike ride and it was really windy so it was sort of a hard workout for about an hour and a half I was riding and then later in the evening I just found that I was um I drink a lot of Diet Pepsi Diet Coke whatever but I was just craving water yeah that I was just craving something that was probably healthy for me your body is like please stop putting this Diet Pepsi inside of me no no I need some of it the whole the Christ and you was like stop it I think that the peace was that when we start doing healthier things we often long for healthier things that we're starting and and so I think it does those things tend to feed on themselves either in a positive direction or in a negative direction what you said earlier also about emotions when we're um when we aren't getting to sleep we're not able to control our tongues maybe as well we're not able to uh you know be angry but do not sin because we just get angry and it just erupts out of us and so I think all of those things it's hard to live a um a Christ like life if we're exhausted all the time we're filling our bodies with unhealthy stuff and let's be honest like here in America like most if not almost all of our food is processed with a whole bunch of weird things that I can't even pronounce and we don't even know what it what these things do to our bodies right yet as of yet but there's lots of different documentaries did you see that one supersize me oh I just heard about it yeah where the guy he goes on like Strictly McDonald's and he was vegan or something before and he gets like depressed and he's crying there with the burger like I don't know why I did eat this but it makes me feel better and I was like I know I understand you like I like kids if you've been there where you eat that kind of food all the time it is addictive there's even chemicals which within the cheese that they use which is likened to cocaine so think about what it does to our bodies and did you read that on the internet no that was actually in the documentary oh it was okay I didn't I just I'm just getting everything off TikTok the um so I do think that sense that if our bodies are a gift from God yeah to treat them with respect yeah to um and so it does matter what we fill our bodies with what we do with them and I mean I think there is sometimes though in our culture today where we obsess over our looks or we obsess with I have to keep my body perfect in ways that there is no perfect body I mean we all have parts of it that we all like I like that I don't like that and who I am and how I feel about myself so so I think there's this danger of ignoring our bodies and not taking them not treating them as a temple but also god doesn't want us to obsess over them either as if if I do everything to keep my body perfect that somehow imperfect there's a whole lot more to life right well I'm not just that but whose idea of perfection oh great point because I mean not only culturally but then also beauty is defined on the region and it's also defined on the decade or the era or I mean bodies have changed when I was teaching the teenagers I showed them how bodies have literally changed and what was considered very attractive right in around 12 was not around the 1800s was not now it's all very different and it's you know it's interesting to to have them you know think outside that like yeah wait a minute who who's defining this beauty first off because then we're chasing all we're chasing opposites yeah right we're either trying to put on weight take off weight put on muscle take off you know it's like it's just it's it's a rat race of a lie well in because as you said and to me there's a big difference between beauty and health that someone can be healthy even though it isn't this sort of like perfect society idealized this is what a body should look like that we can be healthy in different sizes and different shapes but are we doing the things to that continue to give us energy right and what are the things that then drain our energy yeah help us that don't allow us to live into our calling I mean if I'm always tired because I'm not getting enough sleep how can I be ready to serve my neighbor when they ask me they need some help how can I be ready to help out if I'm just putting crap inside of me and so I'm feeling crappy yeah I you know my daughter's fiance now because yes yes he is proposing to her she doesn't know yet but it's fine they they'll do it after they see this so it'll be fine yeah she hasn't done yet hold on this is going online you better not get back on yeah no not yet at all it'll be after that for after that time but um so he's a he's a trainer at Orange Theory right and so the way the body looks is extremely important and they're young and he's 24 and um so I got him for Christmas a yeti and on the yeti I put first Timothy 4 8 your physical training is of some value but godliness has value for all things love it yes and so I I just thought that was so important because it's like yes your physical body taking care of ourselves is important I'm not gonna say that but it's also we have how are you refining not just your muscles but your heart how are you working your heart out how are you working empathy out how are you working your eyeballs out in a way where you see others like Christ like there's a lot of things that we need to be working on um that I think are in conjunction with physical and how we care for ourselves but definitely looking like Christ internally I think takes more precedence I think it does too and I think that's a great great comparison and great great point to make that we in and it's kind I think you said it better than I did but I think that's when we get obsessed in this culture with how we look and and what's the perfection of healthy the God may be um more concerned with our character than our outward appearance yeah and so when we are so focused on the outward appearance it may even be the evils ones distracting us from where we need to put some attention absolutely take something good right and then has has a hyper focus on it it's like that is the so the psychology of evil I read this book like forever ago and it's he goes on to say that the psychology of evil is literally to take a truth and put a lie over it hmm so that you are confused you're like wait a minute this is what I feel good when I look like this I I feel more confident I do oh you know that's the truth right like you're feeling healthier you're looking better and the lie is that this is so important it's going to change your life it's going to get you the job you want you're gonna have an amazing marriage like when the truth is it doesn't matter what you look like I mean it's not what makes or breaks those things yeah yeah absolutely um one of the other things that I went looking through scripture when just as a woman I think we we rustle with this a lot um just the importance of moderation and not gluttony and I'm a 7 on the Enneagram so I'm gluttonous by nature that's like my sin right like overindulgence of everything like oh good wine let's have more chocolate why not the whole thing right and I came across

1st Samuel 2:

28 that where god really he rebukes Eli and his sons for just overindulging in all the meat they were priests in the temple people would bring sacrifices and it was normative to have them take some of the meat right and so Eli apparently became so large that he had fallen off the chair and like broke his neck or something and it goes on to say why do you honor your sons more than by oh wait sorry why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on choice parts of every offering made by my people is real and so you know just God anything we put before God whether it's overindulgence and food uh you know excessive exercise whatever we put in the place before God um and our relationship with God and looking like Christ I think that's when we missed the Mark you know I think that you know the word you use before moderation yeah that you know our bodies are a temple in yet um when we take that to excess you know and sort of just obsess over that we can't enjoy sometimes the simple gifts of a food that we do enjoy or and you know I just um was reading recently in Ecclesiastes where uh again Solomon came back to this sense of saying uh you know the you know as I've observed everything yeah that it's some level God's calling is to enjoy the life that he has given us yeah and to enjoy food and drink and to celebrate the gifts of god into delight in his goodness and so I think there is the sense of that when we go like oh I can never never never have that yeah well maybe those are good things to enjoy it's just at what level and that's where I think God cares that we're in shape so that we can live lives of loving God and loving our neighbor but not in this obsessive excessive way yeah but keeping our body strong keeping them yeah absolutely well I think when we're when we are enjoying these things like what is the intention what is the purpose right is it to um enjoy something and go wow this is an amazing piece of fruit or cake or whatever it is right and think and actually thinking God for it um I when I came across

Proverbs 25:

16 uh he goes on to say if you find honey eat just enough too much of it and you will vomit and so that reminds me and it's true too much of anything is not a good thing yeah and yes these things are here they're meant to be enjoyed um let's have them Jesus was feasting with people and drinking and having a great time but he wasn't doing it to the extent that he was vomiting yeah yeah yeah and so that's that's where I think the wisdom comes in to that I think it does you know another is I was just thinking about this topic mode this past week and getting ready for it I love how God just brings images to mind and God brought a person to mind um the Joni Ericks and Tata if you know Joni she's a woman who um uh at like 17 years old she dove into the water and hit something underwater and severed her neck and she was a quadriplegic oh wow tragedy and yet she's been in a wheelchair for the last 50 years her for for a long time she was um but she ended up becoming this woman who is as a believer in Jesus began to start sharing stories of how can I still follow god in my wheelchair how can I still find joy in the moments that I have she started this whole website Joni and friends and um she Learned how to paint with a paintbrush in her mouth oh yes I remember seeing some stuff and and so this is someone where we say you know does God care if we are in shape um yeah he wants us to use the bodies that we have but sometimes our bodies can't do a lot in in the world's view and yet we still can make an impact Joni Erickson Title made a much bigger impact in this world than I'm ever going to make and she was in a wheelchair for the majority of her adult life and so I think that's also the thing is god can use us whatever shape condition we're in yeah um either because of things we've done or accidents or just how we were born into this world God can use us are we and it's just how do we take care of our bodies so that we can be a blessing to others and so it I just thought of Joni's life and just what a blessing she was for so many and an inspiration for so many um it was just a beautiful thing work with what God gave you right like how do we do this yeah and what does that look like absolutely yes um have you ever did was it a big thing I don't know the Daniel fast have you heard of that uh I've heard of it but I've never done it okay that was like a huge thing with some of my girlfriends and I and it was all about you know taking out different foods and eating just fruits and vegetables and what I took away from that is not so much like oh this is what God wants you to eat cause some of them went a little excessive but I loved what came out of it which was almost like a spiritual practice so one of the things was first it was a commitment to God right Daniel made a decision that I'm I'm not going to do this um I'm I'm gonna honor God by remaining faithful to his command so I'm I don't not gonna eat that rich food and drink that wine like the king had wanted him to um but it came out of like self discipline for his commitment to god yep and I thought that was really that was really beautiful and in that not only did he grow most more spiritually but he had more energy than the rest of them and so he grew physically he grew spiritually and I think when both of those things are aligned right and he trusted God that just on water just on vegetables because of the why right I'm doing it because I want to honor God and glorify God and so I think whatever we're given you know it is in our weakness that God shines the brightest and and that's how God's miracles I think are shown today is because without the presence of God people look and go with some situations like you were just saying and she's painting and has this amazing website like if it wasn't for something bigger than just her working in and through her her is the temple right of the presence of God then we just wouldn't be able to uh live into these things and that's the beauty of it to see what God can do in and through our bodies uh and our hearts you know I got a thought why don't we ask folks to go ahead and put in the comments some food that they really enjoy but they also find it's good for them and just uh let other people share that things that have uh been helpful for them in their journey of stay in shape absolutely what is helped you stay in shape and draw closer to God next time on unpacking truth Jesus didn't say um you know forgive the person who hurts you if they really deserve it or forgive them if you really feel like it or um love your neighbor as yourself as long as it isn't too inconvenient he just has these love your neighbor forgive your neighbor did that and there's a sense that it almost is like that just do it um it is that do it anyway whether I might feel like it or not thanks for tuning in if anything we said brought up any questions or ideas let's keep the conversation going in the comments below or email us at unpacking truths at Loc church dot com and don't forget to like share and subscribe so we can continue helping people unpack God's truth for their lives

People on this episode