Almost seven years ago, I published a blogpost called Me And
My FAT Belly. I confessed my issues with my long-time struggle of living
with a fat belly. The picture in this post clearly shows my obesity.
Since then, I’ve lost 60 pounds and I look and feel a lot better. However, the
fat belly is still an issue, and I continue to struggle with embarrassment to
this day. I’m constantly looking on the internet for solutions to hide it, or
get rid of it.
The other day I felt God addressing my struggle as “vanity”. I remembered a Scripture in Ecclesiastes that says, “Vanity of vanity, all is vanity.” My Bible app gave other synonyms for vanity which is absurdity, frustration, futility, and nonsense. God may be telling me that I’m being vain by agonizing over my fat belly.
All our human achievements will one day fade away, so we must pursue higher values with eternal rewards. Life apart from God is hollow (a vanity of vanities). The things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Cor 4:18). Eternal thoughts should be our focus.
The apostle Peter said that we should be more concerned about the beauty that comes from within, than we are of our outward beauty. The beauty that comes from within does not fade away (1 Peter 3:3-4). Now, this certainly does not mean that I shouldn’t add diet and exercise into my regimen, but I should change my perspective for why I’m doing it.
If I gained the flat stomach that I so desperately want, how would this benefit my inner person? Is how I look in my clothes going to bring me life fulfillment? The apostle Paul said, “Now abide faith, hope, and love… these three; but the greatest of these is love. Now there is the fulfillment. Loving myself as Christ loves me, then spreading that love to others.
King David’s best friend was Jonathan. When Jonathan died, David wanted to bless Jonathan’s son and summoned him to the palace. His name was Mephibosheth. He said to the king, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?” Mephibosheth had a dead dog image of himself. That is not how God sees us. When I look in the mirror, I should not see an overweight woman with a fat belly, I need to see someone that Jesus loves looking back at me.
In the Old Testament, the Levites were given the responsibility to oversee the temple. It was their duty to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the LORD, the courtyards, the chambers, the purifying of all the holy vessels, and many other responsibilities in the temple (1 Chron 23:28). That should be our duty… to perform the service of the Levites over the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is the body. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in us… dwelling in our temple. We should see after the temple to honor the Holy Spirit, but certainly not for vanity’s sake.
https://richardsonblogger.blogspot.com/2016/05/me-and-my-fat-belly_30.html
God is changing my perspective for how I see and love the person I see looking back at me in the mirror. When I look at myself in the mirror, I need to see someone that Jesus loves looking back at me. When I learn to see her as Christ sees her, the struggle with my FAT belly will be no more. No more vanity, no more dead dog image, and no more struggling.