Ever struggle with your body image? Many of us do. Today we’ll talk about some tips to help us improve our body image, so we can lead full lives in God’s purpose.
Lately, I’ve noticed that I spend a lot of time thinking about the physical—what I don’t like about myself and what I’d like to change.
How should I style my hair? What concealer should I use to cover these dark circles? What outfit should I wear to whatever?
I wish my eye color, shape, and size were all different. My hair thicker and easier to manage. And don’t get me started on feet. Ick. Just saying the word conjures a picture of ugly, smelly feet and toes.
I don’t think I’m alone in this. Well, maybe the foot thing. I don’t think most people have such a strong dislike for them. But a sizable percentage of ads on TV and social media cater to our desire to fix whatever we don’t like about ourselves, not to mention countless YouTube and TikTok videos too. So, apparently, I’m not alone in my desire to change parts of myself.
But what can we really do about our poor body image?
Tips for a Healthy Body Image
Shouldn’t we think less about our bodies? As Christians, shouldn’t our focus be outward?
The answer is probably yes, but we tend to struggle with many things that we know should be different. We can’t just tell ourselves, “Don’t do that.” If that worked, no one would still be smoking and drinking, eating Little Debbies, and staying up to watch one more episode.
Thinking less about our bodies, like most things, is a process. Here are some tips that I’ve been working on lately that have helped me tremendously. I hope they help you, too.
#1 – Make the healthiest choice available.
Eating well, exercising, and drinking more water don’t have to come with intimidating goals. We can start with small things that fit into our lives. Then, once we’re comfortable with those changes, we can move on to the next thing.
This will look different for each of us. Some of us may go to a vegetarian or vegan diet while others might add more fruits and veggies to their diet. Others may cut out sodas and drink only water and others may begin by adding one glass of water each day. Some may join a gym and others may follow a ten-minute dance workout on YouTube.
Any step in the right direction is progress, and it’s totally allowed.
I’ve been living by this philosophy for the past several years, and it has helped me to start small by making the healthiest choices possible in the moment without getting overwhelmed. And as I’m comfortable, I make more healthy choices.
#2 – Remember we were made in God’s image.
This can be something we hear a lot, so it can lose some of its oomph for us, but really think about that: each part of us was made in God’s image.
Now part of that image is probably the non-physical, like emotions, but God also created our bodies.
#3 – Remember that God designed each part of us.
This is related to the last point, but it’s helped me to think about this specific component: God designed each part of us. Even those parts we feel are inferior to the rest.
#4 – Think about the vital function each part of us serves.
Speaking of what God made, think about the vital function each part of us serves and the marvel of engineering that went into our design. Like feet.
A basic physics lesson teaches us that the base of a structure should be bigger than the top. This ensures a low center of gravity and better stability. However, the bottom of the human body is the smallest. How can we stand up? walk? and run? We’re an engineering marvel and so are the parts that seem inferior to the rest.
#5 – Think about those things you hate and imagine you didn’t have them anymore.
This seems a little negative and morbid, I’m sure, but it’s helped me enormously in appreciating my body more.
Think about that part of you that you hate. Your feet, toes, nose. Now imagine that you didn’t have them anymore. Or that something happened to them. When I do this to myself, my reaction is “Oh, no! I need that!” with an instant appreciation filling me for what God gave me.
#6 – Remember that we are not supposed to all look alike.
Although we want to stand out as individuals, we spend much our time trying to look like everyone around us. This may sound odd, but when I was younger, I struggled with the fact that I didn’t look like anyone else. Sure, I have some features similar to my family. But I felt somehow invalidated because no one else looked like me.
I may be alone in that particular thought process, and, thankfully, it doesn’t plague me now like it did then, but I don’t believe I am alone in feeling the need to conform. We spend so much time straightening our hair, curling our hair, and looking for the latest styles because heaven forbid someone see us in outdated clothes and point.
Yes, we are the same in many ways, but God made us to different, too. Those differences are beautiful—and evidence of the creativity of God—rather than a reason to ridicule ourselves. Let us not cover our uniqueness.
#7 – Remember that the body of the child of God is a temple.
Like a couple of points above, most of us have probably heard this before, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
When we accept Jesus as Savior, the Holy Spirit resides inside us—never leaving us. This makes our bodies a temple to the Holy Spirit. Just think about that. Not only did God create our bodies, but He chooses to reside in them.
I hope to think much less about my body this year, except when thanking God for it, because our bodies are part of the wonderful creativity of a loving God.
Do you struggle with your body image? What helps you? Be sure to share in the comments below.
More reading…
- What Does “Made in the Image of God” Mean? – Seeing Yourself as God Sees You from Worth Beyond Rubies
- Fear of Aging: Could It Really Be All Bad? from HISsparrowBlog
- 8 Important Verses for a Healthy Body Image from HISsparrowBlog
I frequently link up with the following: Grace & Truth with Embracing the Unexpected, Tell His Story with Jeanne Takenaka, and Let’s Have Coffee with Joanne Viola.
Wow, this hit me head on as I will be 72 next month and my body and hair are definitely not what they were when I was younger. But now my focus is being thankful God has given me all these years and as my physical body ages, I tend to not think about what others may see as less desirable, but focus on being thankful for what still works and functions. Your article helps me put all this in perspective. By the way, I have always thought you have beautiful hair and eyes.
Thank you for your kind words, Judy! You are a treasure!
These are good tips. One thing that helped me was that I couldn’t do much about what I looked like, anyway. Oh, I could eat better and exercise more, and I like to look put-together and not like I just got out of bed. But I’ve never been one for much make-up (mainly because I never learned how to apply it right). And I wouldn’t want to go through the pain, recovery, and expense of surgery.
I went through a lot of angst as a young person. My cousin just sent me some old pictures of myself as a teen-ager, and I thought, I’d love to have that body now even though I fretted about it at the time. These days, my body feels like home, even though I’m still sometimes shocked to see new wrinkles and less hair.
Pictures are key way for me to appreciate where I am now. So many times I see them and think the same as you, but I know that I didn’t appreciate God’s work in me then either. Thanks so much for sharing, Barbara!
Learning to be okay, let alone love, our bodies seems to take a lifetime! I like your idea of thinking how we would function if we didn’t have the particular body part causing us so much grief.
Yes, that makes me find a whole new appreciation for it. Thank you for commenting, Jerralea!
Ashley, thank you for helping us gain perspective on a healthy body image! I hear women my age all the time bemoan the aging process, and I admit I glance in the mirror and rue everything that sags and bags! But like Barbara Harper mentioned, when I see pictures of myself when I was a teen, I would die for that body, hair, skin, everything I complained about then!
I have learned to reframe things as you mention, from God’s point of view. He created me exactly how I am and I am His beloved, what else could I possible change for the better?
So true, Donna! That’s a wonderful to look at it: I couldn’t change any of God’s work to make it better. Thanks so much for sharing!
“We’re an engineering marvel and so are the parts that seem inferior to the rest.” I hadn’t thought of that! God’s creations are marvels and I don’t think I’ll ever fully grasp grasp how marvellous! We can get so distracted by the noise telling us how to look, what to wear etc. Putting health as the priority over how we look, is the key, I think. Sometimes it is hard to know what is healthy with so many opinions out there (and businesses marketing their “healthy” goods). It really is remembering that we are God’s creation and “our bodies are part of the wonderful creativity of a loving God” that keeps us grounded, I think!
Yes, health over looks is a wonderful to look at it. Thanks so much for sharing, Lynn!
Hey Ashley, we wrote about the same thing this week. I so appreciate these tips and encouragement today.
Visiting today from Joanne’s #25&26.
{{Hugs}}
It’s amazing to me when that happens. Sometimes the Holy Spirit just moves in us on the same topics, right? Thank you for visiting, Paula!