The Lie On A Scale

Here’s a question from a friend of mine about the power of a scale. I’ve changed her name, of course.

Sylvia writes,
“I really hate that the scale has this innate power over me to make me feel secure or insecure based on the number I see when I step on it. I'm considering throwing it away. I do not want my worth and my self- esteem to come from a number. I have to remember, I work really hard in the gym. I lift more than most women I see. I can do stuff that I know other women cannot do. I know I am strong---so how does a stupid scale manage to take that away from me?”

Here’s my response:
Sylvia, you are set up to be convinced by God that you are well, right, and great.  But there are powers (the flesh, the enemy, and the world around) that seek to lure you away from the grace and security of God’s love and belief about you.  Through the cross and resurrection, He has made you well, even perfect—a new creation, daughter of His.  That’s all over the New Testament.  So anything that tells you the opposite feels unnatural to you and stressful, and is, frankly, a lie.  You’re going to feel that.

If and as you believe the lie, you’ll become attached to it and either strive to conquer it, believing you’re well if you look good (“I can lose weight!  I can look and be great!”), or you’ll fall in a sort of heap and become depressed if you continue to look and weigh “un-well,” “un-right.”  Either way, the lie owns you, and treats you in the way that a lie always does.

The fact is you’re well with God, who designed you just right and on purpose for all of your days.  That’s His gift to Sylvia.  He has set you up to know Him and enjoy Him and His opinion of you.  It’s really good.  It’s amazing and it’s accurate!  It’s true.  That you’re so bothered by the scale is simply a warning indicator that your identity (what you believe about yourself) has been hijacked by something that will not treat you well.  It lies to you, it doesn’t recognize, it doesn’t respect the real you.  I have often felt it too—I know what it’s like. 

Fortunately, you like “hanging out” with Jesus, who is your perfect workout partner.  He knows who you are, and He always tells the truth.  It’s how He is.  That fits you just right, and that’s the most important work out of all. 

(2 Corinthians 10:3-5; The Message)
“The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.” 

And that’s you.  Shaped by Christ.  Really well.

(This is a transcript from a video I posted on Friday morning. Maybe you'd rather read than watch?)