God’s Solution to Eating Disorders
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Anorexia and bulimia are not organic diseases. They are learned behaviors which can be unlearned by the grace of God. Learning what it means to repent and "be transformed by the renewing of your mind" is the key to overcoming this spiritual and physical bondage.
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God’s Solution to Eating Disorders
- 1. God’s Solution to Eating Disorders: Total Transformation
- 2. What Are Eating Disorders? Anorexia Nervosa • Anorexia nervosa is characterized by an unrealistic fear of weight gain, self-starvation, and conspicuous distortion of body image. The individual is obsessed with becoming increasingly thinner and limits food intake to the point where health is compromised. The name comes from two Latin words that mean nervous inability to eat. Typically clinical diagnosis is made when individual has lost 15% of total body weight. Bulimia Nervosa • Bulimia is an eating disorder in which a person binges (eats a very large amount of food within a short period of time) and purges (rids themselves of the food, usually by vomiting). The abuse of diet pills and laxatives is also common with bulimia. In addition, bulimic people may exercise obsessively.
- 3. Eating Disorders: Pervasive and Cross-Cultural • Statistics hard to come by; anorexia and bulimia extremely common in Eastern Europe •Studies of eating attitudes indicate abnormal eating attitudes in non-Western countries have been gradually increasing. •EDs are not only isolated to North Americans and Europeans, treatment centers serve a full-range of cultures including people from Iran, Korea, Turkey, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Africa. (Source: Planet-therapy.com) • In her 1997 L.A. Times Article titled "Women's Eating Disorders Go Global", Sonni Efron discusses the rise in eating disorder cases in North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Tapei, Shanghai, Beijing, Philippines, India and Pakistan. In Hong Kong, she writes, "20 to 30 types of diet pills are in common use, including variations on the "fen-phen" combination of fenfluramine and phentermine that was banned in the United States
- 4. Why are Eating Disorders so Prevalent? Is it because of…. • Media? • Abundance and (relative) affordability of food? • Low “self-esteem”? • Genetics? • Women are “political prisoners”?
- 5. Human Nature: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) • Eating disorders are NOT diseases. They are life- dominating sins. • Definition of disease: A pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environment. • Definition of sin: Disobedience (in word, thought or deed) to the will of God. 2. Something regarded as being shameful, deplorable, or wrong.
- 6. Root of Eating Disorders = Deadly Vice of Pride • Fear of man/insecurity (Galatians 1:10) • Vanity • Idolatry (Matthew 6:21b) • Seeking control of and/or independence from others • Lack of self-control/gluttony (Matt. 11:19; Titus 1:12) • Perfectionism • Lack of prayer life/undisciplined thought life • Jealousy/envy; anger; hypersensitive to correction; unforgiveness
- 7. Progression of Idolatry Sinful thoughts Sinful Actions Sinful Habits Life-dominating sins “An idol is anyone or anything into which we invest an imbalance of time, energy, and resources. It is a longing, craving, desiring, wanting, must-have, only-happy-when, and want-so-badly-I-am-willing-to-disobey-God.” Dr. Rick Thomas, (Mt. Carmel Ministries).
- 8. An Eating Disorder = Worship Disorder • The heart of anorexia and bulimia is idolatry. • If comfort and thinness are treasures, heart is drawn to self (Matt. 6:21). FALSE SAVIOR • If Christ is treasure, heart is focused on HIM. • To turn her heart from her sin, she must turn her heart to Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).
- 9. "What if exercise & discipline in eating isn't as much about physical health as about honoring the God who made us?“ – Nancy Leigh DeMoss
- 10. Progression of Repentance • Recognize ED as sin – “lust of the flesh” (Eph. 2:3; 1 Pet. 4:2; 1 John 2:16) • Accept one’s own responsibility (Stop blaming others) • Commit to biblical change • Accept God’s forgiveness and cleansing
- 11. Goal: Renewal of the Mind Total Transformation
- 12. “Recovery” vs. “Transformation” • “Recovery” means “to regain or to recapture one’s old self”. • God desires a total TRANSFORMATION. • To transform something is to change its “character or condition”. Our new life in Christ looks nothing like who we were in our flesh.
- 13. Helping Addicts Identify their Idols: Identifying the Lies • James 4:1-10 and the “Heart Chart” Controls What I Do Controls How I Feel What I Want
- 14. Replacing Lies with the Truth • Time in the Word leads to biblical change. • Heart attitude affects behavior. • How does God define beauty? • Spiritual discipline Godly habits.
- 15. “Put Off/Put On” (Eph. 4:20-24) • We do not just “break” sinful habits – we REPLACE old habits/thought patterns with NEW ones! “Put Off” “Put On” Falsehood Speaking truthfully (Eph. 4:25) Bitterness, rage, anger, slander, malice Kindness, compassion, forgiveness (Eph. 4:28) Revenge – returning evil for evil Blessing (1 Pet. 3:9) Idols Turn to God (1 Thess. 1:9) Conforming to evil desires Obedience to God (1 Pet. 1:14-15; 2:11-12)
- 16. How Does this Dynamic Apply to Eating Disorders? “Put Off” “Put On” Number on scale determines my value I am made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26) and my purpose is to glorify Him (Ps. 86:9; Isa. 60:21) Counting calories Food is necessary to sustain life; receive with gratitude (1 Tim. 4:4) Fear of gaining weight God created my body; I can trust Him as I eat the way He intended (Psalm 139:13) Some foods are forbidden or “dirty” No particular food is unclean (Acts 10:15) No one cares about me; I may as well comfort myself with a binge God cares about me, and I can turn to Him (1 Pet. 5:7) I want to be thin, but can’t stop thinking about food! Set mind on things above/eternal value (Col. 3:2)
- 17. Responding to “Slips” or Relapses • Temptation is to turn minor over-indulgence into binge, then engage in compensatory behaviors • Remind self of God’s love (Gospel Primer) • Remind self that you don’t have to sin (you are no longer a slave to sin – there IS a choice) • Pray for grace • Counter “all-or-none” thinking with Gospel view of repentance and God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9)
- 18. Practical Considerations (See Chap. 13 of my book, “Redeemed from the Pit” • Nutritional counseling in additional to biblical is helpful. • “Abstinence phase” – avoiding binge triggers • “Binge withdrawal” – what to expect and how to deal with it • Complete physical (to detect cardiac or renal problems) • Avoiding “diets”, classifying foods as “good” or “bad”
- 19. Accountability (See Chap. 14, “Telling Someone”) • Telling “secret” to another brings relief – once it is out in the light, begins to lose its power • Accountability to another facilitates repentance • Confessing sin to another is God’s will; He provides the supernatural strength • Others can pray for and with you
- 20. Additional Resources • “The Heart of Addiction” (Dr. Mark Shaw) • “Redeemed from the Pit: Biblical Repentance and Restoration from the Bondage of Eating Disorders” (Marie Notcheva) • “Love to Eat; Hate to Eat” (Elyse Fitzpatrick) • “Crossroads: A Step-by-Step Guide Away from Addiction” (Ed Welch) See my review here: http://redeemedfromthepit.blogspot.com/2010/04/review-ed-welchs-crossroads.html
Editor's Notes
- Romans 12:2: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
- Conversation with 15-year-old Youth Group girls in Albania reveal this is a common problem. Recent death of successful Bulgarian artist Prevelence of Serbian pro Ana-Mia groups/discussion boards online
- The media’s images of abnormally thin women being the ideal has often been blamed for EDs. However, both anorexia and bulimia have existed throughout recorded history – long before magazines, TV and electronic media. Anorexia mirabilis (“holy anorexia”) was common among acetic nuns in the Middle Ages; bulimia dates back (at least) to the Romans. EDs existed when food was much harder to obtain (ie Dark Ages) and are on the rise in Japan and the Far East, where food is comparatively much more expensive. EDs are also extremely common in the Balkan countries – Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, etc. – the poorest in Europe, where food is also expensive relative to one’s salary. The Bible warns us AGAINST “esteeming ourselves” and self-love (Phil. 2:3-4; 2 Timothy 3:2). The eating-disordered woman is focused too intensely on herself and her own vain pursuits. Despite repeated studies and inconclusive results of “twin” studies, no gene has been linked to the eating disordered behavior. In Naomi Wolf’s bestseller, “The Beauty Myth”, she writes: “Women must claim anorexia as political damage done to us by a social order that considers our destruction insignificant because of what we are – less. We should identify it as Jews identify the death camps, as homosexuals identify AIDS: as a disgrace that is not our own, but that of an inhumane social order. Anorexia is a prison camp. One-fifth of well-educated American young women are inmates. Susie Orbach compared anorexia to the hunger strikes of political prisoners, particularly the suffragists. But the time for metaphors is behind us. To be anorexic or bulimic is to be a political prisoner.” While a woman in the pit of an eating disorder may feel very much as if she were a prisoner, in reality, she is a prisoner only to her own sin nature. To compare self-destructive behavior, no matter how strong the addiction, to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany is a slap in the face to those who perished there. The prisoners in World War II Europe were innocent of any crime, did not provoke their attackers, and were held in the camps against their will. Tortured in the most inhumane ways imaginable, these millions of Jews, Gypsies and Slavs were true victims. Once a bulimic (or drunkard, or any other substance abuser) comes to view herself as a victim, her chances of meaningful recovery drop considerably. The ‘victim mentality’ becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Rather than viewing ourselves as casualties who have unwittingly been immobilized by addiction, it is more accurate to see ourselves as sinners in need of a Savior extending the gift of repentance. Now true change can begin. (from my book, “Redeemed from the Pit”, p. 56-57
- A disease is an organic problem in the body’s tissues. Anorexia and bulimia are learned behaviors. They are self-destructive behaviors resulting in physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences (estrangement from God). Even secular psychiatrists (ie Lance Dodes) say that “addictions” are NOT diseases. A biblical re-definition of “addiction” : persistent habitual use of a substance (or behavior) known by the user to be harmful (Dr. Mark Shaw, “The Heart of Addiction” Bulimia is wrong for two reasons: First, it can cause serious medical problems such as damage to your esophagus and your teeth. Second, it is a sin because overeating is gluttony, throwing up is a lack of self-control, and wanting to be thin so badly that you are willing to sin is idolatry. -- Martha Peace
- Fear of man can manifest itself in an eating disordered woman as self-abasement; self-abuse; self-absorption; self-pity and perfectionism. Insecurity – placing your faith, hope, trust, belief or confidence in someone or something that can be taken away. Fear of man can also lead to escapism, which the bulimic engages in each time she binges and purges. Vanity – form of self-worship. Behavior starts as a thought, which becomes a meditation behavior. Idolatry – wanting something so badly that you are willing to sin in order to get it. Matt. 6:21b: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Who (or what) is at the center of your life determines what you will worship. Manipulation, guilt trips; playing the “martyr” -Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit - “Perfectionism is the fear-motivated response of people who are not comfortable with who they are. They realize that something is wrong with them. They sense their own “internal awkwardness”. They are not comfortable in their own skin. Rather than fleeing to God to fix what is wrong, their solution is a “do it yourself” attitude. Their path to wholeness is through a performance-driven, perfectionist mindset. This is spiritual madness, the mind gone mad. Perfectionism is not only untenable, but it is illogical. And it is a blatant denial of the Gospel.” (Rick Thomas, biblical counselor)
- Romans 7:14-25: The Conflict of Two Natures For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold [a]into bondage to sin. 15For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 21 I find then the [b]principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22For I joyfully concur with the law of God [c]in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in[d]the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner [e]of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from [f]the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
- The heart of bulimia is similar to the heart motivation behind other “I can’t stop” behaviors. Greek for appetite: “koilia” – a hollow; a cavity. Also used figuratively of the heart (John 7:38). “Whose god is their appetite (void),”, Phil. 3:19 Thinness = false savior/idol perceived to give comfort. * The anorexic or bulimic MUST learn to see Christ as more beautiful than what gives her comfort (idols). In practical terms, which is more important to me? Being a size 2, or my relationship with Jesus Christ?
- 1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
- Puritan writer Thomas Watson outlined six aspects included in biblical repentance: Seeing your sin – 1 John 1:8,10. Sorrowing over your sin – We must do more than admit it. We must internally engage with it. Psalm 51:17; Isaiah 57:15; 2 Corinthians 7:9. Confessing your sin – We must put our sin into words and agree with God that what we did was wrong. Psalm 51:4; Hosea 14:1-3; 2 Corinthians 7:11; 1 John 1:9. Being ashamed of your sin – Watson: “blushing is the color of virtue.” Jeremiah 6:15; 31:19. Hating your sin – Job 42:5-6. Turning from your sin – Watson: “Reformation is left last to bring up the rear of repentance. It is not the heart of repentance, but the fruit of repentance.” Matthew 3:7-8; Acts 26:20. At the very least, this means removing yourself as much as possible from places of temptation (Proverbs 4:14-17). If your sin was against other people, then you must go to them and ask their forgiveness (Matthew 5:23-24). If the sin involves stealing, then restitution must be made (Luke 19:8). Repentance is necessary for God to forgive us (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 8:22).
- 2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are beingtransformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
- James 4:1-10 (lists things to avoid): What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? [b]Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask [c]with wrong motives, so that you may spend it [d]on your pleasures. 4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripturespeaks to no purpose: “[e]He [f]jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “ God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. A big part of overcoming eating disorders (and other addictive behaviors) is learning to be a truth-teller, to be authentic, and transparent. ** Biblical counseling process focuses on getting anorexic or bulimic to the place where they recognize Jesus Christ is the one true desire of their heart. (Seeing Christ as more beautiful than addiction). See Ed Welch’s “Crossroads”.
- 1. A common characteristic among Christian anorexic and bulimic women is lack of a consistent prayer life. Regular time reading the Bible also goes by the wayside. Usually, their guilt over what they know to be sinful behavior keeps them away from God. Spiritual apathy also sets in and motivation to be fed by the Word of God drops. This is a form of pride for two reasons: first, the woman will “run away” from God in shame (like the Prodigal Son of Luke 15, who was too proud initially to return to his father’s house). The biblical solution is to confess her eating disorder as sin and repent. Secondly, indifference toward God’s revealed will indicates an “I’ll do it myself” mentality. Few individuals in the grips of self-destructive bondage want to admit that God’s Word has the answers they need. Prayerlessness and neglect of Scripture cause the eating disorder to become even more deeply entrenched. Repeatedly, a bulimic turns to the food – her drug of choice – to fill the spiritual void left by broken fellowship with God. Ephesians 6:11 – putting on the full “armor of God” Psalm 119:11: “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” 2. What you think about constantly (meditate) will eventually play out in your actions. God is not interested merely in outward conformance; repentance begins in the heart. Proverbs 3:27 – “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Matt. 23:27 – “For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” 3. Although we have adopted the world’s standard of beauty and use it to drive our eating-disordered behavior, we must make a conscious, deliberate decision to STOP, EXAMINE the thought as it comes through a BIBLICAL filter, and CHOOSE to believe God INSTEAD. God says you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) and, in fact, you are made in His very image (Genesis 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 11:7). God does not look at outward appearances; nor does He judge by superficial standards: “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart,” (1 Samuel 16:7). Physical beauty is transient at best: “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised,” (Proverbs 31:30). Peter tells us that in God’s eyes, beauty comes from our spiritual condition. Listen to what the married apostle has to say to Christian wives: “Your adornment must not be merely external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; 4but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.” (1 Peter 3:3-4). Warnings about vanity: Job15:31; 2 Peter 2:18 4. This is true in day-to-day life as well as in the spiritual realm. (Exercise; breaking habits; etc.) It takes around 6 weeks to break or develop a habit.
- Ephesians 4:20-24: That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
- Time studying the Word, in addition to a regular prayer life, is essential in order to “re-program” our thoughts. In order to be Spirit-led, one must be consciously adopting God’s thoughts/priorities and replacing our human, sinful ones with His.
- Among all the young women I have counseled, those who have someone to keep them accountable (husband, Bible study leader) have done significantly better at walking away from bulimia. My own sin in this area Point 1 – Freedom from fear (John 8:36) – if we are in God’s will by telling the truth, we need not fear man Point 2 – He will provide all you need to get through the process of repentance (2 Cor. 12:9) Point 3 – “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (James 5:16) - Point 4 – Ecclesiastes 4:11-12 “…If teo lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?”