3.  Present Reality-

Now, back to our body image.  Why is it that we are not happy with how we look, how we are made?  What things do we do to mask our inner unhappiness and cope with our body image?

*dieting, fashions, make up, fitness, eating disorders, self-abuse (cutting), alcohol/drugs, living sexually promiscuous or hiding/denying our sexuality…

I want to share with you some of my own story and how I’ve struggled with my own body image.  As a little girl, I didn’t give too much thought to my looks or body type.  Until, my parents separated and then divorced.  That trauma set off a series of ugly events that scar me even today as a 47 year old woman. 

My mom moved in with a man who was very unhealthy.  He had a pornography addiction and had magazines and dirty joke books around all the time.  He was not discreet and I (and the other 3 children in the home) saw way too much for our young eyes!  Also, as I was growing up and entering into puberty, he would make comments about my changing body and I felt so ashamed and embarrassed.  I started to wear layers, old sweaters, and try to hide myself.  I felt ashamed about my femininity and began to think of sex and sexuality as dirty. 

Thankfully, mom saw this relationship and environment as dangerous to her two daughters and herself and we left there after five years.  Not soon enough.  The damage had been done.

I began going to a youth group in a new community when I was about 14.  God was drawing me to Himself and through the youth leader, I came to learn about Jesus and the message of being saved.  Praise the Lord, I accepted Christ just as I was going into highschool.  God spared me of a lot of heartache.  I dated a couple non-Christian guys, but fortunately, I learned that was wrong and a Christian guy from youth group asked me out. I learned more about healthy relationships and appropriate dating.

But just because I became a believer in Jesus didn’t mean my self-image and body image were automatically purified and changed!  I still battle with self-consciousness.  I do think a lot about my appearance and never seemed satisfied with looks, especially my hair.  Not sure why but that can become an obsessive focus that if my hair isn’t right, I feel yucky about myself in general! 

I know my own struggle with body image had to do with abusiveness, insecurity in my family situation, blaming myself for my parents’ problems and the pornography.  But there may be many other circumstances in life that set you on a path of self-hatred and loathing.  Verbal abuse; physical abuse; comparison to others or to the images the world offers as “perfect”. 

The ultimate force behind false body image is Satan.  He was a deceiver in the Garden and He is the same today.  He wants to destroy God’s creation.  Satan’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy.  Satan hates us and will go to any lengths to annihilate us!  He wants to destroy the image of God in us. 

4. Hope-

I remember discovering Psalm 139 when I was about 16.  Very powerful psalm, especially verses 13-16.  These words gave me life and hope that I was created by God, with His design and purpose.  It meant a lot to me to know I wasn’t a mistake, that I wasn’t marred or unclean somehow.  When I look in a mirror, I can recite those verses and see something good instead of the self-critical comments I used to make. 

It isn’t easy to undo the damage of abuse.  Maybe your story is different than mine.  But God longs to heal the ugly thoughts we have about ourselves and replace the lies with His truth.  The change doesn’t happen overnight.  In Romans 12, the Bible tells us that our minds need to be renewed, to change from the lies the world (and Satan) tell us.  This transforming & renewing of our minds is a spiritual battle and we can only have victory when we fight with God’s weapons and His power!