1 Corinthians 6:20 says “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

Diets, calorie counting, no wheat, no sugar, no fat, no meat, low carb, high protein, the restrictions go on and on. We are setting ourselves up for failure time and time again. By restricting our diets in such a manner, we deprive ourselves of the freedom God has given us. When we “cheat” or make a choice that is unhealthy, the message we send to ourselves is negative saying we deserve to be punished for “breaking the rules” which reinforces our negative self-image. Our self-image is attacked hundreds, if not thousands, of times a day by a world that is in the business to make money off of our low self-esteem. We are told we need to weigh less, the newest diet pill, the newest supplement the newest exercise format and whatever you do, you have to try the newest diet.

To restrict is, by definition, to put a limit on or to keep under control. Even the synonyms are harsh: to hinder, hamper, deprive, shackle. Shackles are exactly what God’s grace has freed us from. The shackles grow tighter and tighter the more we buy into the worlds view of “healthy”. This type of behavior sets us up for failure. The emotional torture we cause ourselves when we have a piece of cake is not doing anyone any favors. The more we seek approval from the scale that we have shackled ourselves to, the less we experience God’s freedom and grace. The scales will never be able to measure our true value to the One in whom we should seek our value from. We wind up shackled and broken by those numbers when we seek to find our value in them. Giving up when we take a day off from our usual food choices is not at all in line with keeping our eyes on Him who created us. All this does is take our focus away from Him and puts it on other idols (e.g. the scales, the diet pills, the supplements, and the exercise, and on and on).

I have been a Revelation Wellness Instructor for over a year now and while I feel freer and try to loosen those shackles, it is not an easy task. I am very fond of rules; I feel safest when I can depend on the concreteness of a rule. You can or you cannot, there is no room for error. I love the certainty that comes with following rules. I lived many years of my life out of control, not honoring my body, or my God. Years of living without boundaries took their toll. I feel out of control when things are unpredictable. This can still be seen in my eating habits. I crave control, so I do eat certain foods and I don’t eat certain foods. It’s that simple, no beef, no pork, no sugar, no, no, no. My diet became very rule oriented or very restrictive. With each rule the shackles grew tighter and tighter. I have slowly allowed grace to be a part of my diet. Grace and honor. I now honor my body, making healthy choices, and finding joy in the occasional cupcake, or gummy worm, in the same way I find joy in veggies and fruit and water. I am certainly not against self-discipline, or self-control. There is a huge difference between self discipline and restriction. Self-discipline is about self-improvement, which being a fruit of the Spirit is not to be taken for granted. There is nothing negative about bettering one’s self. Learning to trust the love and discipline of Jesus is a game changer.

What if we take the power back that we have given away to restriction and turn it toward self-discipline? What if we begin to honor our bodies rather than worship them? We might find more success at keeping our bodies healthy and whole if we choose honor. To honor something or someone is to treat with high regard, great respect. The synonyms for the word honor are words that create a space for success, they include, glory, joy, privilege, merit. When we honor our bodies, we find joy in what God created, and we seek to glorify God. By honoring our bodies we can be freed from the restrictions and damage that a lifetime of shackles has done to us. Freedom comes when we no longer rely on the latest diet; we are able to choose life giving foods because they honor the body and our God.

The shackles of dietary restrictions, pills, and supplements and the torture of the numbers on the scale have been released. I find joy in running. I find grace in a Revelation Wellness class, and I find peace in my food choices. I love and honor the body God created for me without shame. A body that was created to thrive and not to be deprived. We were created to glorify Him. We show Him glory when we honor the body He created.

Restriction creates shame.
Honor creates grace.
Restriction suffocates.
Honor is life giving.