Are obese men qualified to be pastors?

Abiyah, you asked how it happened you lost that weight in such a short amount of time. If you look at what you dropped, it was things with a lot of sugar (pop) and salt (canned foods). Your body did two things: it dumped a LOT of water due to the reduction in salt, and it did NOT add the sugar as fat to replace whatever you were burning up. This is also why Preach was able to lose weight just cutting out sugars and salt (fries).

There are a few other helps with eating to maintain energy (which in itself helps you lose weight). Start the day with protein. It stays with you longer than anything else because it is harder to break down. Avoid sugars and added salts. For the women, make sure you have at least three servings of a calcium-laden food a day. For some reason, this also helps lose weight. Yogurt, cheese, and milk are the biggest contributors in the dairy area; but you can also eat a number of vegetables which have calcium such as broccoli --
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/milk/whycal/vegetables.cfm

nuts help control diabetic tendencies and are high in vitamin e. Don't be afraid of them, but don't go crazy on them, either!

Oatmeal does not HAVE to be for breakfast! Eat it as a snack with some fresh fruit on top in the middle of the day and you will be surprised at how much better you feel!

The important thing is, no matter what your weight or what you are trying to achieve, please do what is healthy and good for YOU.

Just to answer any questions about how come I learned some of this stuff -- my pancreas was kicked in half by a horse when I was 21 and I am what is called a brittle hypoglycemic, meaning they expect it to flip into diabetes at any time and so I try to baby my poor little half pancreas as much as possible by not overloading it on insulin demand. That means exactly what I have mentioned above in terms of eating habits. I'm a little overweight, but nowhere near what was expected with this problem. Especially considering it is easy for me to get very dizzy and disoriented if I get hungry (low blood sugar) or eat too much (pour out insulin with resulting low blood sugar) -- so the tendency is to snack my life away! Slowly but surely -- and it has taken years -- I've learned how to live with this and still stay energetic and healthy and only minimally overweight. I can live with that!

 

Self-control isn't an all or nothing type of thing. I suspect that most Christians have areas in their lives where self-control is an issue. Christian A, for example, might have no problems maintaining a healthy weight but struggles with overspending on his credit cards. Christian B might have difficulty with food but not struggle with impulsive spending.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that each of us probably have some area in our lives where we need more discipline. It is often to see controlling one area of life (such as weight) as easy if it isn't one that we've personally had to struggle with. I also know that God has often convicted me to work on a particular area of my life first instead of bombarding me with a list of ten areas to tackle at once. It doesn't mean that I shouldn't get around to the other areas but that my energy is directed elsewhere at the time.

This doesn't mean that we should encourage others to pursue healthy lifestyles but to remember to have compassion. We should remember though that a healthy lifestyle and a low weight are not often synomnously. An person who struggles with anorexia or bulimia may have a low weight but is harming her body. A person who is overweight might be making drastic changes in eating habits and exercise that might not yet be reflected on the scale yet.

Finally, if people are going to hyperconcerned about what others eat, perhaps a few suggestions are in order. Don't have all social events be focused on high calorie, high fat food. Don't pressure some one to eat if they don't want to (personally I'm sick of people pushing some dessert that I really don't want at me).

 

Exactly how does a body brought under subjection manifest itself? What is the fruit thereof? </font>[/QUOTE]For instance, does a body that is brought under subjection to the Holy Ghost yield its eyes to look at the SI Swimsuit issue?

No.

Does it yield its hands to theft or violence?

No.

So then a body under subjection to the Holy Ghost denies its lusts?

Yes. It also yields its members to works of righteousness.

The fact is, that Paul has in clear view a reigning in of the body so that it does not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, and thereby disqualify him from obtaining the Crown of Life.

A strong desire for food is as much a part of the lusts of the flesh as anything else. So we see that 1 Cor. 9:27 is indeed directly linked to how we yield to our lust for food.

 

Here is my point. If a man is lacking in self-control in the matter of food should he be a pastor? No. On the other hand, if a man is overweight, lack of self-control may not be the cause of it. Other factors come into play that can cause obesity. Note the initial question that was asked on this thread:

There is a false assumption in this question. The assumption is: "weighs too much" = "lack of self-control". One does not necessarily equal the other. At that point, to look on the outward appearance and sit in judgement on another is sin. It is as sinful as lack of self-control.

 

Madelyn

Thanks for the note of sanity. The only thing I would disagree with is the 'probably' part -- we for SURE all have areas where we need more work in self-discipline.

 

My 21 year old is 6ft 4 220 pounds of athletic Holy spirit filled child of God and he has a very strong desire for food. I think part of the anger shown here is due to some who automatically associate weight with lust.

Murph

 

This pic is a few years old, but anyway...Guess who? Now, who wants to wrestle on the topic?

Pete

 

Paul is speaking of the Crown of Life, not the pulpit.

 

At 6'4", a well taken care 220 pounds is not overweight I don't think.

Wasn't the discussion about self-control in general? "Lust" in Scripture is often associated with morality of a sexual nature, but it should not be. The word refers to desires of all types, both good and bad. The point is that these desires should be held in check.

[ March 27, 2003, 06:59 PM: Message edited by: Pastor Larry ]

 

Very well-put.

Karen

 

personally, i think i'm fat from a lack of self-control. my desire to be healthy is far weaker than my desire to eat like i want to.

certainly it's a sin in my case.

 

OK, flip side. Are obese women fit to be wives and mothers since they are to help the husband guide the home and lead the children? Can they be teachers or pastor and deacon wives? If not, then the divorce rate will be much higher and there will be few left in any ministry after we throw out the obese people in a country where over 50% of us are overweight.

 

Seems like the story of Eli and his sons has bearing on this question. Eli was in a position of spiritual leadership. He and his sons had an inordinate lust for food and took more than their share from the offerings of the people(1 Sam. 2:29). Eli became "heavy". Not only did he not control his appetite, but he did not restrain his sons' appetites (3:13). Since the sons weren't believers, their lusts went beyond food into immorality. Eventually God removed the family from leadership (permanently).

By this example I'm not saying every person who's a little overweight isn't qualified for spiritual leadership--but an obese person most likely does have a problem with self-control, and thus will not be as effective a shepherd as he ought to be. Such a problem could very well be reflected in more serious problems in the lives of those under his authority who are already rebellious anyway.

Surely we all agree on the truth of this principle--unless we're in denial. Nobody's perfect, but our standard should not be redefined to allow for our imperfections. We should be striving to live a life that will not cause others to stumble by the grace of God.

In Christ,

Tim

 

Well, I blew it today. Snowballs, doughnuts, milk, pepsi, then Mexican Pizza at Taco Bell.

You know, I got up too late to pray this morning. When I pray, I have the strength to abstain. When I don't, I don't.

 

You know Aaron that when you stand before the Lord, this very day you were in sin will show before your eyes. I feel sick from reading what you ate Not your regular diet on off days, is it? Aw, just kidding. You confessed your sin, you're forgiven. But now to work off the pounds. Or are you one of those that can eat like that and get away with it?

 

Some folks have a great metabolism and maybe just as "greedy or gluttonous", but it doesn't show. Also, skinny looking people may be in bad shape and have a worse BMI than a person that looks overweight. My son the trainer can affirm this. I move fatser and crawl around on the floor placing PCs better than some skinny people so is looks a big deal?

 

Oh, my dyslexic fingers! For a fatser I still move faster!

 

Tim I had already thought about Eli and while I agree that he was far from perfect he had a wonderful ministry especially in the training of Samuel. Sadly his sons were unwilling to yield to the Lord.

Murph

 

In the NT, the behavior of his sons would have disqualified Eli from the the ministry.