{"id":1795,"date":"2012-01-31T06:00:33","date_gmt":"2012-01-31T10:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eatwithjoy.org\/?p=1795"},"modified":"2012-01-31T06:00:33","modified_gmt":"2012-01-31T10:00:33","slug":"is-hating-my-body-a-sin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rachelmariestone\/2012\/01\/31\/is-hating-my-body-a-sin\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Hating My Body a Sin?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I love seeing the search terms that bring people to Eat With Joy.<\/em> Some of them are strange, some are creepy, some are funny, some are sad. Sometimes, the search terms inspire posts, like this one, which landed someone here last week:<\/p>\n

\u201cIs Hating My Body a Sin?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

And so I\u2019d like to attempt to answer that question.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To begin, we might ask \u201cWhat\u2019s sin?\u201d <\/strong>I\u2019m aware that there are about a thousand disputed ways to answer that question\u2013and so no one \u2018perfect\u2019 way\u2013but I like this one:<\/p>\n

Sin is the seeking of our own will instead of the will of God, thus distorting our relationship with God<\/strong><\/em>, <\/strong>with other people<\/strong>, and with all creation.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

And I\u2019d add that the people who make it easy for all of us to hate our bodies (through relentless idealization of unreal bodies, through profit-motivated manufactured discontent) are more \u2018guilty\u2019 than the teenager who thinks there\u2019s something wrong with her thighs.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/em>Then we might ask \u201cwhat\u2019s meant by \u2018hating my body\u2019?\u201d<\/strong> There\u2019s no answer in a catechism, of course, but we could try something like this:<\/p>\n

Hating one\u2019s body is the disrespecting of the body God has given us, which in itself is worthy of respect and honor, being made in God\u2019s image, <\/strong>the fulfilling of desires in ways God not intend, to believe lies about human bodies in general and ours in particular, and to covet for ourselves a body not our own.<\/em><\/p>\n

So I would say that, yes, hating one\u2019s body usually involves sin:<\/strong> a distortion of the relationship God desires to have with us, and the relationships God desires for us to have with others and with creation.<\/p>\n

And, like any sin, hating our body means a loss of freedom and liberty<\/strong> that God desires for us.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hating our bodies is a great handle for marketers to grab onto\u2013which is why I see body hatred as a corporate \u2018sin\u2019 as much as an individual one. Untold billions<\/strong> are made off of people\u2019s hatred of their bodies.<\/p>\n

Body hatred might be regarded as a form of ingratitude <\/strong>for the life and body God has given us. It may lead us to fulfill certain desires in ways God doesn\u2019t intend (for example, self-starvation<\/strong> or gluttony<\/strong>.) It may lead us to covet<\/strong> what we don\u2019t have\u2013as when we look at someone else\u2019s body and wish we looked \u201clike that.\u201d<\/p>\n

As always, the ultimate remedy<\/strong> is the grace of God shown to us in Jesus. I think of the communion table as a place of grace and healing in particular for this ill.\u00a0 Supplementary remedies include:<\/strong><\/p>\n