8 Spiritual Principles for Christian Weight Loss

     Sometimes, goal setting and striving to look better and be sexier are just not enough to motivate you to lose weight. Read below to find spiritual principles to think about, pray about, and contemplate for successful, permanent Christian weight loss!

1. Recognize the value God places on you. Read Psalm 139:13-16 and truly discover in your heart how much God thinks about you, loves you, and cares for you.

2. Realize God's sacrifice. Read John 3:16 again. And then read it again. He did that for YOU. He loves YOU, so you are immensely valuable!

3. Love yourself. "Love your neighbor as yourself" originated from God in the book of Leviticus, was repeated often by Jesus, and reinforced by Paul.

Think about it: it not only means that we are supposed to love others, but that we are supposed to ALREADY love ourselves! GOD said so!

4. Forgive yourself: others have messed up before you. Moses murdered. David committed adultery and sent a husband to his death. Matthew was a thieving tax collector. Paul persecuted and killed. Thomas doubted. Peter denied Jesus in His very presence.

Last I checked, they all turned out ok and were used mightily by God to advance His kingdom and bring Him pleasure. You will be great, too, if you'll just ask for God's forgiveness and realize that He has forgotten about it, already, and cast the sin as far as the east is from the west. Forgiving yourself goes a long, long way towards successful Christian weight loss.

5. Forgive others. Bitterness, resentment, and anger are stressful and unhealthy. Chronic stress increases cortisol. Cortisol leads specifically to increased abdominal fat and inflammation. Abdominal fat and inflammation lead to heart attacks that kill prematurely.

6. Others have had it worse than you. Read the book of Job. Then count your many, many blessings. You'll see that they are innumerable.

7. Move on. Literally eating yourself to an early grave because of the past is not forgiveness (either of yourself or others), and it is a horrible, sinful coping mechanism.

8. Seek Him first. Face it. Much of life will be a struggle. We aren't guaranteed worldly "success" in this world as Christians. Stop seeking the success of this world and seek Him, first.

"My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Jesus said that, and He doesn't lie.

It becomes automatic and natural to take care of your body (the temple of the Holy Spirit!) when you seek Him first, you realize that you are valuable, God loves you, you are forgiven, you can forgive others, you can forgive yourself, others have had it much worse than you, you can move on, and you can love yourself as God commanded!

Review this list of Biblical and spiritual principles. Which of these eight different concepts are holding you back?

Pray to God that the Holy Spirit would intercede in your heart and reveal the areas of your life that are causing you to sabotage your weight loss efforts. Dealing with issues like these will create permanent weight loss and healthy lives for Christians.

Seek first the kingdom of God. Know first the value He has for you. Accept and embrace your value in His sight, and then treat the wonderful gift of life and the body that He has given you for what it is: a treasured, loved, and cherished temple of the Holy Spirit.

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