Overweight? Obese? You may be suffering from FMS!

By Diana Chaloux

Over the Christmas holiday I had the opportunity to visit my family in Vermont. While at home I made the choice to enjoy some holiday treats which are not part of my normal eating routine. After partaking in some divine “sticky buns” that a close friend had made, I stated “These are evil!” then I laughed and continued to devour my indulgence.

After finishing, I thought about that statement and I realized that it just simply wasn’t true. Food is not evil! In fact food is an amazing blessing from God! Food is not your enemy, and food is not at fault for the health and weight issues you may be struggling with. Now that I have your attention, let me explain. God created food for us for many different reasons, to sustain our bodies, provide us with essential nourishment, and also for our enjoyment while here on earth. Food is a gift from God, he provided us with an astounding variety of foods which cater to any taste and preference.

Here’s the real issue when it comes to food…. FMS, Food Misuse Syndrome. O.k. I just made that up, but it seems that every problem in our society is eventually summed up to a syndrome which can be cured by the latest miracle pill. In all seriousness though, it is our misuse of food which can lead to problems with weight including obesity as well as a myriad of negative health issues. Food is so enjoyable that millions of people struggle with the control it has taken over their lives. Does this sound familiar to you? Does the thought of making good choices when it comes to what type and what amount of food to eat seem impossible? Misuse of food can come in many shapes and forms including overindulgence, lack of self control whenever a tempting food is present, using food as a crutch or turning to food for comfort during emotional or stressful situations.

In Philippians 3:19 the apostle Paul is giving a passionate speech about enemies of the cross of Christ, one of the characteristics he assigns to them is that “their god is their stomach”. So it is true that God created food for us, but His intention was not to allow food or our desire for food to become a god which is placed before Him. So if you know in your heart that food has more control over you than God intended you may be panicking right now and saying, “But what can I do?”

First of all, let me reassure you by saying, “There is hope!” Of course, there is always hope when you have the higher power of Jesus Christ in your corner! The first thing you can do is to identify the problem and start praying. You can pray and ask God for self control when it comes to overindulging, you can pray that when you are lonely, suffering trials or experiencing emotional stress, you will turn to Christ for comfort and for fulfillment rather than to the refrigerator. Prayer is a powerful tool and even if your victory over FMS doesn’t happen overnight, with continued prayer you will win! Remember that God has the power to overcome any human weakness or limitation, He can give you determination, the strength, the dedication, the consistency, the self control and the desire to utilize the wonderful gift of food in the proper way in order to lead a more fit and healthy lifestyle!

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”