Oprah, Biggest Loser, and Spiritual Fitness

Posted At : January 6, 2009 7:41 AM | Posted By : Sharon Betters
Related Categories: Spiritual Disciplines

Oprah Winfrey captured the world's attention once more by putting a picture of her present forty-pound heavier self next to the previous applause-getting slimmer self on the cover of her magazine, Oprah! She invites millions of people to join her as she once more confronts root issues that keep raising their ugly heads as evidence by her body size. I freely admit, she has my attention!

In a world where millions die of starvation on a daily basis, how can it be that we Americans spend billions of dollars on diet plans, books, fitness centers and continue to hear dire reports of the growing problem of obesity in our country? Biggest Loser personal trainer, Jillian Michaels puts her fool proof fitness plan into five easy to understand steps:

1. Put yourself first.
   
2. Eat better.
   
3. Move (exercise).
   
4. Have a positive attitude (Mental Health)
   
5. Take time to smell the roses.
   

I have to wonder what would happen to our world if we paid us much attention, invested as much time and energy, and spent as much money or our spiritual health as we do on our physical health? Put Jillian Michaels' 5 points to the test in a spiritual context.

1. Put yourself first. What does this mean for the Christian who embraces that the "last shall be first?" In my book, Treasures of Encouragement, I tell the story of a pastor who counseled a grieving mother this way. He said, "You must take care of yourself first if you want to be ready to take care of others. Think of the instructions on an airplane. If the oxygen masks drop down, grab yours, breathe into it and THEN help your child. By taking care of yourself first, you will be equipped and able to take care of your child." Sometimes a young mom will wail, "When is it my turn?" My response is often, "It's never your turn!" But here is my disclaimer. Take care of your spiritual health if you want to experience grace and peace as you walk by faith and meet the needs of others. Put your time with Christ on the same level as a doctor's appointment.
   
   
2. Eat better. What food are you putting into your spiritual soul? Are you satisfied with spiritual fluff? When you come to the banquet table of God's Word, do you choose only dessert or do you dig in to the meat that will help build strong spiritual muscles?
   

3. Move. Will you commit to using spiritual muscles as much as you are committed to exercising your physical body? Will you commit to the hard work of forgiveness, listening twice as much as you talk, extending mercy to someone who is genuinely helpless? If we refuse to move from misery to mercy to ministry, we will never experience spiritual health.
   

4. Attitude. Do you view life through the grid of hope or despair? Do you have a martyr's complex? Have you recently thought, "Why does everything bad happen to me?" Or will you choose to view life through the grid of God's promises? Someone has said that attitude is everything. I don't know if I would agree totally, but attitude is critical to physical and spiritual health. Depending on attitude, a forty-year-old can act like a ninety-year-old and a ninety-year-old can act like a forty-year-old. What is your attitude toward God's call to follow Him, to reflect Christ, to love your neighbor - your enemy?
   

5. Smell the roses. Where is your mental, emotional, and spiritual focus? Are you always looking at the next project, next task, next minute? Or are you choosing to slow down and enjoy the moment, to capture the magic of each new day?

I ask again. What if we put as much thought, time and effort into our spiritual health as we invest in our physical bodies? Where to begin? Other fitness experts remind us that great lifelong healthy habits are formed by making small, simple changes in three key areas: nutrition, fitness and stress. Reject the "lose it fast" attitude and pick out one small goal that will strengthen your spiritual muscles for a lifetime.

This past Sunday Chuck preached a sermon titled, The Bucket List. He challenged us to consider God's bucket list for His people and to develop our own personal bucket list. Coupling his challenge with my goal of strengthening my spiritual muscles, one of my personal spiritual goals for this year is to deepen my prayer life, to experience the joy of knowing God hears and will direct my daily activities through prayer. I have a plan in place to help me achieve this goal. I am in the process of choosing specific scriptures to pray for the people I love as well as my church. I challenge you to join me this week in this adventure. Pick out one passage to pray for your local church (mine is Psalm 122). Every day I put my church name, our staff, and our covenant family into this passage. I especially pray this passage on Saturday and Sunday morning. This past Sunday worship was sweeter and God's presence was even clearer to my soul as a result of this targeted prayer time. And I am expecting the members of our congregation to have hearts that are more open and sensitive to the truth of God's Word.

In my next entry I'll explain the bucket list and start sharing some of my personal spiritual fitness goals on my bucket list. Some of them will be small, simple changes that will impact my spiritual nutrition, fitness and stress. I hope you'll share some of your bucket list goals with me, too!

In His grip,
Sharon