In today’s world and society, there’s an incredible amount of emphasis put on body image, especially for women. As women, we see images of girls in bikinis in magazines as we go through the check out line and are constantly bombarded with the idea that “skinny” is beautiful. We are often told, if we want to be beautiful, we need to be skinny.
On the contrast side, we have those in rebellion against this movement that say “real women have curves” putting down the girls that are skinny and often calling them shallow or conceited. These women think they are telling ladies that they don’t need to be “skinny” to be “beautiful” (-which is very much so true). However, they are instead insulting the girls that are skinny and telling them that a guy will not desire them because “a real man likes curves”.
We have two extreme sides, one of which is saying you’re only beautiful if you’re skinny, the other saying, guys only like curvy/thick girls. -Neither of which truly honor God in the design of how He created us uniquely.
So how do we find a balance between these two? These two different sides seem to be in a constant battle against each other, firing shots and insulting the other.
I do not agree with either of these arguments, are here is why.
To define “beauty” as being “skinny” or a certain number on the scale, is insulting to a God who uniquely designed each one of us in a completely different way. We are constantly trying to compare “apples to oranges”. God did NOT create every girl to be a skin-and-bones bikini model. Nor did He create every girl to have curves. There is not “right” or “wrong” body type. We insult God's creation at the expense of satisfying the opinions of man. We are convinced of society's distorted standards rather than God's absolute truth's.
The “Embrace the skin you’re in” movement, is a great movement, that I agree with, with a few concerns. When we tell girls to “embrace the skin you’re in” we are also telling them and allowing them to continue to live an unhealthy lifestyle. When we tell girls to “embrace the skin you’re in” we are communicating to them, that they don’t need to value their bodies enough to the point of feeding it nutrition it needs to survive. Being unhealthy can be dangerous to your health, by eating unhealthy, a large list of illnesses and diseases can develop. Some such as diabetes, high blood pressure, joint aches, headaches, foggy memory, the list goes on.
The bottom line, it comes down to being healthy. Eat right, and be active. Your body WILL go to it’s natural form, shape and size when you decide to be healthy. By eating healthy, and being active, you will feel better, not necessarily because your body is “in shape”, but because you will have more energy and your mind will be more clear. As well as because of something called “endorphins”. God created girls (and men!) to be all different shapes and sizes! Our job, isn’t to fuss about the number on a scale, but rather to make sure we are giving our bodies the correct nutrients it needs to flourish at the level God created it to be at.
If you’re healthy, and you don’t fall into society’s “average weight” for your height, age, etc scale, then so what? Embrace the skin you’re in! God wants you to be healthy, so you can live more effectively and longer. Forget about the scale and just be active! Have fun with life! Find an activity that you like to do, and do it! Biking, hiking, swimming, gymnastics, football, golfing, baseball, running, the list goes on! Whatever it is! Just do it! You’ll find yourself much happier and content with your overall appearance anyway! God has made you different from everyone else, so stop trying to fit in the mold they are trying to push you in! Some of us are stronger than others and have bigger builds, others are smaller and more delicate. But at the end of the day, we are all uniquely loved by an incredible God, that doesn’t care what we look like on the outside, but what our heart looks like on the inside. After all, without love, we are nothing.
I couldn’t agree more in the fact that we need to be confident in our self -bodies included, however we would have to further understand what true confidence is and how we become confident. Pride is often mistaken as confidence, however pride is a fruit of insecurity as well. Even those that workout and are fit can hide behind their “bodies” and use the fact that they are fit and in shape as their confidence. This is definitely not true all of the time, but still happens from time to time. We are often told that “confidence” is being able to show your body without being embarrassed about it. If we undress in front of a camera, we are somehow “confident”. However, that is not confidence, because that kind of “confidence” is seeking approval from people, and succumbing to their opinions so you will be accepted and liked. Such actions are actually done out of a place of insecurity and searching for validation. True confidence, is not being afraid to be who you are unapologetically, being able to cover up and know that you are still beautiful. Truly confident girls, are the ones that can be “sexy” without having to broadcast it to the world. Confidence is silent, insecurity is loud. Confident people are not concerned about what others think about them, or the opinion of those that try to project their own insecurities onto them. I once saw a quote that said so accurately ‘confidence is not “they will like me” confidence is “I’ll be fine if they don’t” ‘.
True confidence, can only come from God, and knowing that with Him you are capable of the impossible. Discovering who God has created you to be, regardless of what the world suggests you should be, breeds true confidence. There is no one more concrete than God. When we find our confidence in who He is, and who He says we are, we won’t need validation from other people, because. God didn’t create you to be like everyone else, He created you uniquely different from the rest of the world.
