Spiritual Obesity
Those who know me realize that I’ve been fighting a lifelong battle with my weight. At this period in my life, I am losing. Unfortunately, I’m losing the battle, not the weight.
I understand the concept of weight control all too well. It is actually pretty simple. If I consume more calories than I expend in
I’m wondering if that same concept can be transferred to the realm of religion. Could some of us be dealing with spiritual obesity? Could that even be true of entire congregations?
When I was in the position of being a full-time preacher, one of my concerns was whether or not people were being nourished by what I was presenting during periods of worship and Bible study. As I continue to serve as an elder, I realize that one of my responsibilities is to “…feed the flock of God…” (1 Peter 5:2).
However, receiving nourishment (either physically or spiritually) is not designed to be an end in itself. The nourishment is designed to make a body function properly. When that is the case, a person or a congregation can be productive – if the decision to be productive is made.
If I continue to consume calories and never burn any – or very many – of them, I may not like the consequences. I may find myself becoming more and more lethargic. It may seem that my clothes continue to shrink. I may do all I can to avoid stepping on any scales because I get tired of seeing higher numbers all of the time.
In a similar way, if I see the “sum total” of my duty as a Christian as that of showing up regularly in order to be fed, I may find that I’m suffering from spiritual obesity. If the “work” of a congregation is defined only in terms of feeding the flock, we may find ourselves collectively in that same condition.
There is also the possibility that progress is, in fact, being made by the congregation of which I am a member. The sad fact could be, though, that the progress is due to the efforts of only a few of the members. If may be the case that the congregation as a whole is viewed by others as being very healthy. A closer look, however, might reveal that a small minority is carrying the load while the majority is getting just that – larger.
As I thought about that, I tried to remember a quote from a famous football coach I heard years ago. I couldn’t remember the quote exactly, but, with the help of the Internet, I found both the quote and the context.
Bud Wilkinson was very successful as a college football coach. Among his many accomplishments, including three national championships and thirteen successive conference championships, he holds a record that has yet to be broken. From 1953 to 1957, his Oklahoma Sooners won forty-seven straight games. No team before or since has come close to matching that streak.
As you read the information I found on the Internet – especially the last sentence – you might want to ask yourself, “Am I one of the 22 or one of the 50,000?”
Bud Wilkinson, former football coach at the University of Oklahoma, was in Dallas for a series of lectures on physical fitness. A TV reporter interviewed him about the President’s physical fitness program and asked: ‘Mr. Wilkinson, what would you say is the contribution of modern football to physical fitness?’ The reporter expected a lengthy speech.
As if he had been waiting 30 years for this question, he said, ‘Absolutely nothing.’
The young reporter stared and squirmed and finally stuttered, ‘Would you care to elaborate on that?’
Wilkinson said, ‘Certainly. I define football as 22 men on the field who desperately need rest and 50,000 people in the stands who desperately need exercise.’
Howard Hendricks, Say It With Love
It could very well be that each of us would benefit from “taking stock” and asking ourselves the following question:
Is my spiritual life characterized by the proper balance between diet and exercise?
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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
