FAT IS NOT A FOUR-LETTER WORD

What does the Bible say about how much we should weigh?

Nowhere does the Bible say how much we should weigh. It is cultural. In some African countries, "fat" people are considered very beautiful. The charts we use to evaluate our weight are culturally derived, not based on sound scientific facts.

But the Bible does say we are not to be a glutton or a sluggard. And there are many admonitions to not forget God, the source of all our riches. When we are blessed with abundance, we run the risk of forgetting who is our provider. As long as times are lean--and so are we--we have a tendency to remember our God and seek Him often.

For when I shall have
brought them into the land
which I sware unto their fathers,
that floweth with milk and honey;
and they shall have eaten and filled
themselves, and waxen fat*; then
will they turn unto other gods,
and serve them, and provoke
me, and break my covenant.
Deuteronomy 31:20

But Jeshurun waxed fat,
and kicked: thou art waxen fat,
thou art grown thick, thou art covered
with fatness; then he forsook God which
made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock
of his salvation. Deuteronomy 32:15

[*waxen fat = become fat]

The danger is not in becoming "thick" or "fat." The danger is in forsaking God. As long as we focus on God, we will have limits to our fatness.

And Ehud put forth his left hand,
and took the dagger from his right thigh,
and thrust it into his belly:And the haft [handle]
also went in after the blade; and the fat closed
upon the blade, so that he could not draw the
dagger out of his belly.... Judges 3:21-22

Obviously, When the belly engulfs an object with folds of fat, that is extreme! If you can't change positions and straighten out a fat fold, you are probably too fat. But obsession with weight, in either direction, means our focus is off God and on ourselves. If anything is more important to us than God--even our appearance--it is an idol.

Some of my favorite verses are:

The meek shall eat and be satisfied:
they shall praise the LORD that seek him:
your heart shall live for ever.
Psalm 22:26

All they that be fat upon earth
shall eat and worship:
Psalm 22:29

Beware of diets that conflict with the word of God. They are "doctrines of devils."

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly,
that in the latter times some shall depart
from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils;... ...commanding to
abstain from meats, which God hath created
to be received with thanksgiving of them
which believe and know the truth.
For every creature of God is good,
and nothing to be refused, if it be
received with thanksgiving: For it
is sanctified by the word of God
and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:1-5

Don't miss the big IF in verse 4: Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, IF it be received with thanksgiving.

Most current diets stress limiting the amount of cholesterol in our food, especially "bad cholesterol." Excuse me--Didn't God create all cholesterol? How is it "bad"? Lamb has more cholesterol than most meats, but God made it one of the staples of the Israelite diet. It is not the cholesterol in our food, but the condition of our hearts [spiritually speaking], that makes the difference in our health.