This is a practice we should do daily to make sure we are living by faith. And if we want to live by faith we should apply it to everything, especially the things we desire. Are the things we are seeking after things that will draw us closer to God or are they things that will make us more like the world?
I am 55. The last few years have been kind of rough on my self acceptance. For years the body I inhabit looked the same. It stayed the same weight pretty easily. I never even had to think about it. After menopause, female bodies change. I wasn't embracing that change at all. I didn't like the numbers on the scale. I didn't like how this body looked. I didn't like how it felt. I didn't like the changes it was making. And no matter what I did the changes were here to stay.
I could have continued to fight these changes. That is a choice some make. I could have kept criticizing this body (and I did for a long time until I realized that was not from God and I was bad-mouthing his creation and his gift to me. So, I repented and kept my mouth shut).
Just this morning as I was getting dressed, I realized my desire to look a different way (it's still hanging on) is not from God at all. It is me wanting to fit a certain image that is embraced by the WORLD!!!! The world says the thinner the better. The world says women must fight age -- stay looking young no matter the cost. Society says age change is bad. Age change shouldn't be embraced.
People! This is just another ploy from the enemies of God and our souls to get us off track -- taking us away from doing the work God has called us to do.
Yes, yes, and yes. We need to care for the bodies we inhabit, but they aren't meant to be the focus of our lives. They aren't meant to rule our lives. They aren't meant to be abused. They are meant to be embraced and loved and as they age; we are to treat them with respect and compassion and gratefulness.
Our desires, our focus on life -- all of it needs to be in worship to Jesus Christ -- loving Hiim and loving people. When we get off track, when we make it about ourselves, our bodies, our images, we are not walking in faith. This world is not our home. We want to bring as many people with us to heaven as possible, and focusing on what our bodies look like is never going to bring people into God's family.