Overcoming Selfishness

October 1, 2019 by  
Filed under Christian Life, Health and Fitness

By Cami Checketts –

My baby is almost ten months old. I’ve worked hard since he was born to lose the “baby weight.” It hasn’t been easy but I’m finally back to my pre-pregnancy weight. But for some reason that hasn’t been good enough. I keep thinking, “Just five more pounds,” which is silly because I’m usually the first one to preach that the number on the scale is just one indicator of good health and you should really focus on how you’re feeling, how hard you’re working, and if you’re confident with how you look.

My younger sister finally called me out. Here’s the gist of what she said (or at least what I heard). “You’re so focused on your body being perfect. You have four children. Grow up.” I think she might have said it a little nicer than that, but then again maybe not. Here’s where her advice gets good: “It’s one of the devil’s tools to make us think that we’re not good enough. If he can convince Christian women to first of all have no self-confidence because they’re not ‘perfect’ and second make them selfish enough to spend all their time trying to be ‘perfect,’ look at what he’s accomplished.”

She is right. Instead of focusing on my family, my spirituality, serving others, and bettering my corner of the world, I was caught up with myself—how I was looking, when I was going to fit in more exercise, what I was eating.

As always, it comes down to balance. Of course we should take care of our physical bodies. We all know we can accomplish the Lord’s work much more effectively if we are healthy and strong. But if any of you have gone past the point of healthy—to obsession, it can be a real concern.

Turn to the Lord for help. He cares about you in every aspect of your life. And don’t be afraid to ask family and friends to help keep you on track as well. My husband, boys, sister, and many others who love me keep me focused on the important things in life.

However, the most important thing for me to do is to ask each day what the Lord wants me to do, instead of what I want to do. If I listen to that answer, I’ll never go astray.

 

About Cami Checketts

Cami Checketts is a wife, mother of four boys, fitness consultant, and author. Please refer to her blogs for more information - http://camicheckettsbooks.blogspot.com - http://fitnessformom.blogspot.com.
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Comments

2 Responses to “Overcoming Selfishness”
  1. Hally Franz says:

    Great advice, Cami. Sometimes, it is hard to decide what the best use of our time is; we can’t do all that we want to do in a single day. If we let God help us make those calls, he’ll see that we get the priorities accomplished each day. Thanks!

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