Originally published Wednesday, 23 October 2013.
Have you ever be visited by cynical whispers that criticize you every time you look in the mirror – no matter what you’re wearing? Joy at Grace Full Mama certainly has. According to her piece “My Booty and God’s Glory” – her inner voices whisper things like:
“You need to lose weight. You aren’t worth anything. You are so ugly…”
And
“I need to cut back. I can’t enjoy this food. I have to start running again. I’m no good…”
She reminds us that this shame and self-image problem is not bound by the size of your jeans or the numbers on the scale, but rather that “shame knows no size.” We all deal with shame over something, and for many of us women, it’s our weight. In fact, for many women in my own boat, the self-esteem can plummet over being too small or boyish. No size woman is immune from harsh self-criticism.
So how to combat the nasty words and the plummeting sense of value? Joy offers a quote from Tim Keller:
“Because the essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less….A truly gospel-humble person is not a self-hating person or a self-loving person, but a gospel-humble person.” {Tim Keller, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness}
How important to remember that our truest identity is found in Christ’s freeing, redeeming Gospel!
In another important perspective, Amanda Casanova at iBelieve.com reminds us that “We’re Not All Cookie Cutter Women”, that sometimes good Christian girls wear sweatpants and t-shirts, and that doesn’t make them less of a masterpiece.
“A Christian woman isn’t meant to be a model of perfection. A Christian woman is meant to prayerfully pursue Christ.”
On Crosswalk.com, Theresa Ceniccola echoes this same sentiment in the final section of her piece entitled, “Five Whispers Every Mom Should Hear”:
“I am God’s masterpiece and I already have everything I need to succeed… Fortunately, as Christians, we can lean on our faith when the doubt and fear creep in. We can remind ourselves that God counts every hair on our heads and he has plans for us to prosper.”
And with this confidence in our worth as God’s daughters, Cortni Marrazzo explains that, though we know we won’t achieve perfection, we can still cheerfully pursue goals without resorting to self-hate or a false sense of security.
“Paul recognized his weakness and imperfections, but kept pressing on to grow and improve. While it is important to recognize that we will never have it all together and that we are imperfect, that doesn’t mean we stop trying. We can still learn and grow and give our best effort at getting better at whatever we have to do.”
Sister, do you easily become critical of your weight, shape, or to-do list? Brothers, do you also buckle under the same self-scrutiny and body image issues? What helps you remember to hand it over to Jesus?
Debbie Holloway is the Family Life Editor for Crosswalk.com
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