As a person who calls himself a Christian, I believe deeply that my weight is the direct consequence of sin. That sin being overeating (gluttony) and under-exercising (sloth). There are MANY other indirect consequences of my sin, too: discomfort, reduced physical abilities, pain, social marginalization, lack of respect, etc. And so much more that those of us who are obese readily recognize. We tend to whine and complain about these things. But, really, I deserve them!
I have continued to live in this sin for decades. And the consequences have increased. Why didn't I try to change sooner? Why didn't I realize what I was doing?
Well, sin feels good! Sexual sin usually feels pretty good in the moment. Dishonesty feels pretty good when it gets a person undue respect or accolades. Well, eating chocolate, potato chips, ice cream, hamburgers, fries, and so on feels really good. It is easy to keep on doing it, just like those other things. In the short term, it is SO easy to ignore the long-term consequences and allow the immediate pleasure to take over.
Well, that is what I have done. Over and over and over I have ate too much and too much of the wrong things. Further, I have never wanted to exert my body in any way other than to accomplish some task that I was interested in. And I was certainly not interested in my health! Man, how sad is that!
I sincerely believe that somewhere within me is the capacity to make the necessary changes without the surgery. Somewhere. However, I have failed so many times and have wasted so much of my life that I cannot risk it any longer.
I frequently come back to these words of Jesus:
Quote:
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"If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." Matthew 5:29-30
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I don't believe He was throwing this out as a command to be taken literally. I DO believe He was saying that we need to take extreme measures to rid ourselves of sin. In some cases, losing a hand may keep you from sin...say physically abusing someone for instance. Or to gouge out an eye...if you struggle with lust or covetousness. An extreme measure for sure, but potentially life changing if you can use it as a tool to shatter the pattern of sin in your life.
In this case, I want to cut off a major portion of my stomach - an extreme measure - in order to stop the cycle of overeating in my life. It will not keep me from overeating, but it will be a powerful tool to overcome the hold this sin has had on my life for far too long.
At this point, I have repented (meaning I have declared my actions as sin and have chosen to turn away from those actions) and am working on developing better habits prior to surgery. I am trying not to overeat and eat healthy things. And maybe some not so healthy things...but in moderation.
Now, I need to start working on exercising!
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