What is your BMI? No, it is not your Bahamas Mission Inventory. It is your Body Mass Index and you can calculate it here: www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/BMI/bmicalc.htm If you haven’t noticed lately the number of people that are overweight in our society and in the church has increased drastically. www.medicinenet.com/obesity_weight_loss/article.htm At the next potluck at your church try performing a simple experiment. Observe the first 10 people that go through the food line, and determine how many are overweight? Maybe we think that over eating is Biblical. Jesus ate everywhere He went when He did ministry. He also walked (exercise) everywhere He went as well. How is our exercise frequency these days?
The battle with eating too much food
and the wrong types of food is real and daily. We have even created TV shows
about this hot topic. I know I personally struggle in this area of my life. It
takes a lot of self-discipline to first of all curb our appetites and also eat
healthy foods. The question is not “Why are we overeating?” It is “Why we are
using food to cope” in our lives. Being overweight is just a symptom of the
real issue that lies in our hearts.
We are all familiar with the Bible
text from I Cor. 6:19-20 on this topic. http://carm.org/christianity/sermons/1-corinthians-619-20-your-body-his-temple Our bodies are
created by God, it is His temple in which the Holy Spirit resides. So taking
care of our bodies is a stewardship issue. We have all heard of managing our
time, talents, and treasures. I always include a fourth ‘T’ (temple) in my
management plan. Psalm 139:14 says, "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully
made." With proper self-discipline and maintenance these biological
temples that God gave us may provide 80 plus years of service. So not only will
we be able to serve our King longer, we will also be able to spend more years
with those we love including our grand kids, which has become another positive
motivator for me. 
If we neglect proper exercise and nutrition for our bodies, all that God has planned for us may elude us. This is even more of a challenge in the “go out to eat”
culture we live in. Take courage, it is
a daily battle of stewardship in which God wants to assist us with victory. Keep in mind no
diets actually work. What we need to do to overcome acedia is change our lifestyles. We also need to show
care for kids or grandkids that are in our care. One in three young people
today are obese www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/nutrition/pdf/facts.pdf. If we
want to leave a healthy legacy we have to set a good example for them to
follow. 