What does it take to have a "Bod 4 God"?

My wife bought a book a while back called Bod 4 God:The Four Keys to Weight Loss, written by Rev. Steve Reynolds.  "You might like this," she said.  "You ought to take a look at it sometime."

"Yeah, I'll do that," I responded, mentally adding it to the long list of books that I've promised to look at without making a time commitment for actually doing so.  If you could see the pile of books in my office, you'd understand that it could take YEARS for me to actually get through all of them!  So Bod 4 God never really garnered my attention.

And I have to be honest: I really didn't care to look at that book.  Last fall, I had no motivation or incentive great enough to stir me into action.  I was what I was, and I wasn't interested in whether or not I could change what I was.  But all that changed in January 2011, as I documented in my post, "Fresh Starts in More Ways Than One."  Over the last month, I've been motivated and incentivized (is that a real word?) by the Holy Spirit to lose weight, build strength, eat right, and rededicate my body as a worthy temple for God.  So I picked up Reynold's book and started reading.

Steve Reynolds got the moniker "The Anti-Fat Pastor" when Fox News did a report on him several years ago.  Like me, Reynolds is a pastor who's dealt with weight issues all his life.  As a kid and young man, football kept him in fairly decent shape, but he swore off exercise after his final season in college.  He was "good" on that commitment and ended up weighing 340 pounds, became diabetic and was poised to deal with all the other health issues that obesity brings.

Here's what happened next:

Then, with God's help, I found a way to begin taking small steps, and those small steps led to a new lifestyle.  They led to life.  I've lost more than 100 pounds and am still losing.  I no longer need medications for my diabetes.  I now control it through my diet.  Now I really feel good and have lots of energy.

OK, so he's got a good personal story to tell, but will his small steps really be effective for anybody else?  What are these steps anyway?  He offers four:

1. Dedication: Honoring God with your body
2. Inspiration: Motivating yourself for change
3. Eat and exercise: Managing your habits
4. Team: Build your circle of support

Take the first letter of each step and you get D - I - E - T.  I'm sure that's intentional.  It's also true.  This is exactly what I've done in the last month.  And so far I've lost nearly 20 pounds in six weeks!  It must be more noticeable in the past few days because I've gotten many more comments.  And like Reynolds, I'm starting to really feel good and have lots of energy!

In my last post, I opened what I thought was a giant can of worms: overeating = overweight = sin.  Maybe if I'd used that as the headline, I would have gotten a bigger reaction.  What I got instead was a giant collective cricket chirp!  Silence; no comments whatsoever!!  So I'd like to unpack that idea a little more and see what happens...

Steve Reynolds writes:

Christians are the most overweight people group on earth.  We are more overweight than Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and every other religion you can name.  Christians should be the most healthy people group, especially when we consider the physical condition of Jesus Christ, our Founder and Leader.  Jesus Christ was in such great physical condition that he could walk 40 miles [from Tyre to Sidon], not in Reeboks but in leather sandals; and yet his followers on this planet are unhealthy, overweight, sedentary couch potatoes.

Wow!  No holding back there, but blunt and in-my-face.  And if you're reading this honestly, it's in your face, too.  I think Reynolds is right.  As a whole, we Christians do not do a good job of following in our Leader's footsteps when it comes to healthy living.  (Nor for that matter, in a lot of other things, either - but that's a blog post for another day...)

I've started walking on a more regular basis with my wife, but I can't do 40 miles!  I'd like to be able to do four miles!!  And so I'm working to complete a 5k run/walk this coming summer and do it in under an hour.  That won't make me the fastest walker - much less runner - but it will show that I can do more then than I can now.  And I can do it not for my glory, but for God's.

That last sentence is the most important statement that I've made in this post: do it for God's glory.  A "Bod 4 God" requires that it not be about me.  While I might enjoy the attention and compliments for myself, the nice words really aren't for me, but for the One who lives and reigns within me.

I like the approach that Steve Reynolds takes with Bod 4 God.  He includes not just info about food and portion control, nutrition and exercise, but also biblical content to support all of that.  If I just want somebody who can tell me to exercise and eat right, it's not enough.  I need to live right, and that means more than what I eat and drink, or how much weight I can lift.  Reynolds suggests daily Scripture reading, having a special time alone with God.  He also encourages weekly memorization verses, so that the Bible is internalized and brought to bear on our attitudes and appetites.  The end result is designed to  ...

"fill up the inner man.  When my inner man has been stuffed full, my physical man won't be so hungry, and I will have better control over what I eat." 

If you're interested in reading more of Reynold's plan, you can find his book on Amazon, Christianbook.com, or search on "Bod 4 God" on your favorite search website to find it elsewhere. You can also visit his website: http://www.bod4god.org/