Is being a Christian like being on a diet?
[Originally posted March 8, 2010]
I’ve been praying for all those around me for various things, as well as for myself in terms of helping me spread God’s word. One thing that has gone through my mind is “why wouldn’t people be open to Jesus’ love?” I mean, I know there are plenty of reasons out there, but it’s different for others than it was for me, since I was born and raised in church. I’ve seen both sides of the fence though, and this came to my mind today after some prayer and I immediately began to write it down and I feel that I need to share it right away.
****
Many times people feel that getting right with God (and being a good Christian) can be like a diet. The thing is that a diet often has a bad connotation to it and unfortunately, in this day and age, so does Christianity. I want to show you that while there are some parallels, it is not the same thing.
Often churches will say to you (especially as a new Christian) to immediately purge everything that makes you sin from your life. That is the equivalent of crash dieting or fasting without preparation. It doesn’t always work. You may lose “weight” and feel better about yourself at first, but usually you eventually gain everything right back.
Now let me make one thing clear- yes, it is important to get rid of major things that cause you to sin and fall (ex. doing drugs, cheating on your spouse, etc), which is what you would do in a healthy diet (ex. cutting down, sometimes drastically, the number of sweets and salts that you eat- especially based on your health).
But some people need to have this done gradually. This is a VERY fine line to walk and depends on the discipline of the person. Just how some diets work for some people and not others and vice versa. People can be saved only one way (through Jesus), but at different intensity levels.
For example, throwing out all your worldly CDs & DVDs in order to really focus on God may be nice and helpful at first, but if you don’t have the right continued spiritual backing behind it, eventually you’ll crave that stuff again and you may even resent the fact that you got rid of it in the first place and thus begin resenting the church and God (you do not know how many times I’ve seen this… especially amongst teenagers).
I feel that God is putting on my heart to say that you don’t need to be this extreme at first. God will eventually touch you and your spirit will bring you away from these things on its own as you grow stronger in Christ. You can’t force or guilt someone into getting rid of all things because they can become resentful.
For example, there may be a new young Christian that is struggling with lust and pornography. Obviously, this person should get rid of the porn in order to not be tempted anymore, and maybe cut down on their time on the internet to limit access to it. But it may be even harder for that person if you also insist to them they also give up the music they listen to, the way they dress, the books they read and more all at the same time. Some people can do this and come out a stronger Christian in the end but some people just can’t handle that all at once, and as a new Christian they may not have the faith needed to overcome.
As I stated before, this is a very fine line. It really depends on the person, and that is what churches and Christians really need to understand in order to effectively evangelize.
Yes, some people are weaker than others and may need to purge everything in order not to fall, but it requires either discipline or a strong guide to be held accountable to.
I don’t mean this in a way to compromise- not at all. I feel it is important to get rid of all things that cause us to sin, but sometimes, certain people may need to work up to it, just like with a diet. If you do a diet right, it’s not really a diet- it’s healthy eating habits. Little by little, eventually you like the results so much that you’ll go deeper with it. You’ll begin to cut out most (if not all) junk food, start buying organic foods, change the way you eat, etc. Basically in this metaphor being healthier overall is the equivalent to becoming a stronger Christian.
And in the opposite aspect- think about when people are thinking about or starting diets. They may be living an unhealthy lifestyle and not like how they look or feel, so they want the change, but even then it can be hard. But then there are other people that feel they are fine and don’t want to change b/c it means giving up food they love and they’d rather live a “shorter but happier life.” Even though that could mean hardship, death and sadness all around. Often times people look at a diet and say “woah, this is way too hard. I need to give up too much. I’m not going to bother with this. My eating habits/lifestyle isn’t that bad. I’ll manage somehow.” And sadly, this is the exact same reaction many people have toward Christianity.
In the end, for anyone who feels compelled to make changes in their life that will strengthen their relationship with God and their spiritual health that process can happen in small increments that build toward something greater. It doesn’t have to happen overnight. Much like having healthy eating habits, all that’s required is to have an open heart & mind, be committed to make those changes, not condemn yourself if the changes don’t take place right away, and develop the discipline to follow through.
With much love, God Bless!
JE
I’ve been praying for all those around me for various things, as well as for myself in terms of helping me spread God’s word. One thing that has gone through my mind is “why wouldn’t people be open to Jesus’ love?” I mean, I know there are plenty of reasons out there, but it’s different for others than it was for me, since I was born and raised in church. I’ve seen both sides of the fence though, and this came to my mind today after some prayer and I immediately began to write it down and I feel that I need to share it right away.
****
Many times people feel that getting right with God (and being a good Christian) can be like a diet. The thing is that a diet often has a bad connotation to it and unfortunately, in this day and age, so does Christianity. I want to show you that while there are some parallels, it is not the same thing.
Often churches will say to you (especially as a new Christian) to immediately purge everything that makes you sin from your life. That is the equivalent of crash dieting or fasting without preparation. It doesn’t always work. You may lose “weight” and feel better about yourself at first, but usually you eventually gain everything right back.
Now let me make one thing clear- yes, it is important to get rid of major things that cause you to sin and fall (ex. doing drugs, cheating on your spouse, etc), which is what you would do in a healthy diet (ex. cutting down, sometimes drastically, the number of sweets and salts that you eat- especially based on your health).
But some people need to have this done gradually. This is a VERY fine line to walk and depends on the discipline of the person. Just how some diets work for some people and not others and vice versa. People can be saved only one way (through Jesus), but at different intensity levels.
For example, throwing out all your worldly CDs & DVDs in order to really focus on God may be nice and helpful at first, but if you don’t have the right continued spiritual backing behind it, eventually you’ll crave that stuff again and you may even resent the fact that you got rid of it in the first place and thus begin resenting the church and God (you do not know how many times I’ve seen this… especially amongst teenagers).
I feel that God is putting on my heart to say that you don’t need to be this extreme at first. God will eventually touch you and your spirit will bring you away from these things on its own as you grow stronger in Christ. You can’t force or guilt someone into getting rid of all things because they can become resentful.
For example, there may be a new young Christian that is struggling with lust and pornography. Obviously, this person should get rid of the porn in order to not be tempted anymore, and maybe cut down on their time on the internet to limit access to it. But it may be even harder for that person if you also insist to them they also give up the music they listen to, the way they dress, the books they read and more all at the same time. Some people can do this and come out a stronger Christian in the end but some people just can’t handle that all at once, and as a new Christian they may not have the faith needed to overcome.
As I stated before, this is a very fine line. It really depends on the person, and that is what churches and Christians really need to understand in order to effectively evangelize.
Yes, some people are weaker than others and may need to purge everything in order not to fall, but it requires either discipline or a strong guide to be held accountable to.
I don’t mean this in a way to compromise- not at all. I feel it is important to get rid of all things that cause us to sin, but sometimes, certain people may need to work up to it, just like with a diet. If you do a diet right, it’s not really a diet- it’s healthy eating habits. Little by little, eventually you like the results so much that you’ll go deeper with it. You’ll begin to cut out most (if not all) junk food, start buying organic foods, change the way you eat, etc. Basically in this metaphor being healthier overall is the equivalent to becoming a stronger Christian.
And in the opposite aspect- think about when people are thinking about or starting diets. They may be living an unhealthy lifestyle and not like how they look or feel, so they want the change, but even then it can be hard. But then there are other people that feel they are fine and don’t want to change b/c it means giving up food they love and they’d rather live a “shorter but happier life.” Even though that could mean hardship, death and sadness all around. Often times people look at a diet and say “woah, this is way too hard. I need to give up too much. I’m not going to bother with this. My eating habits/lifestyle isn’t that bad. I’ll manage somehow.” And sadly, this is the exact same reaction many people have toward Christianity.
In the end, for anyone who feels compelled to make changes in their life that will strengthen their relationship with God and their spiritual health that process can happen in small increments that build toward something greater. It doesn’t have to happen overnight. Much like having healthy eating habits, all that’s required is to have an open heart & mind, be committed to make those changes, not condemn yourself if the changes don’t take place right away, and develop the discipline to follow through.
With much love, God Bless!
JE
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