The Biggest Loser: Week 2-4

Workout

In my mind two things stand out when I think of “The Biggest Loser”:
1.) The encouragement the show gives people… even those who aren’t overweight.
2.) The passion the contestants have to shed weight and work towards being healthy.

We’ll focus on number 2…

There is no denying that the most visible example of the contestants passion comes from the workout. You can see it in their faces, their sweat, their emotions – these people are seriously passionate about what they are doing. The workout is agonizing, strenuous and demanding. It separates the men from the boys [and the women from the girls if you’re a stickler for politically correctness].

If you’ve seen the show you know what I mean. From what is shown on T.V., these folks are worked hard, but there is a method to the madness. If you’ve noticed, they are constantly being given directions… “five more reps”, “push with all your strength”, “ride hard for three more minutes”, etc… you get the idea. They are given directions to keep them on track so they can stay on course. The trainers know that they have to keep encouraging the contestants with these directions so they will stay focused and not lose sight of the bigger picture. In short, they are telling them what is required for a healthy, physically fit lifestyle.

The similarities between body-fat and sin-fat are too obvious to ignore, and while a physical workout promotes the burning of body fat, a spiritual workout promotes the burning of sin fat.

During Jesus’ time on earth, He was constantly being pushed into a corner to prove himself. The religious leaders of the day were relentlessly coming at Him insisting He explain His motives, and Jesus consistently proved Himself right.

The disciple Matthew records one of these raids. He tells it like this:

34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:34-40, NIV)

In essence, the Pharisee’s (the religious leaders of the day) were saying, “So, tell us Jesus… what’s the best way to work off sin-fat?” To which Jesus responded, “Love. Love God with everything you’ve got and love everyone else as much as you love yourself. Do this and everything else will fall in place.” In short, Jesus is telling them what is required for a healthy, spiritually fit lifestyle.

To be fair and remain consistent, we need to examine the two responses Jesus gives. First, He says that in order to stay spiritually fit and burn sin-fat we need to love God with our everything – not just bits and pieces. The NIV translators affirm heart, soul and mind, and in all actuality there isn’t anything left after that. If we devote our heart and mind to something, then that’s not everything. If we give up our mind and soul to a cause, our heart could still lead our passions. No, in order to truly love God we’ve got to give Him our everything. This should be our reaction to God. Theologian A.W. Tozer once said, “What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” So, do you think of God as oppression or as love? It’s hard to embrace oppression, but love is easily received. The writer of I John 4:8 explains, “God is love.” Therefore, to know who God is is to know what love is. Thus, our response to God should be that of love – a love that encompasses everything and conquers all things… every aspect of who we are – heart, soul and mind. Everything.

But Jesus didn’t stop there. He also says we should love our neighbors as ourselves. This statement is much deeper than it sounds. On the surface it sounds like Jesus is dealing only with our response to our neighbors, but in all actuality He is dealing with how we view ourselves as well. I translate neighbor to be the people we come in contact with – the people we’ve known and the people we are just now meeting. Sometimes our neighbors are our best friends; sometimes our neighbors are our worst enemies – in either case God commands us to love them. Unlike God, our neighbors are not love, but God is love. Some people may argue that they don’t love themselves and in turn don’t love anyone else. However, it is my belief that Jesus mentioned the command to love God first for a huge reason… because God is love. If we love God with our everything then we have to love ourselves, because God is love and we are giving into love with everything we have. If we love others as we love ourselves, then we are showing them the best example we can give of God’s love. Again, the author of I John explains, “19We love each other as a result of his (God) loving us first” (I John 4:19, NLT). Because God loved us first we have been given the instruction to love other people – no matter what.

Even when they are rude.

Even when we don’t get the raise we deserve.

Even when they buy our lunch.

Even when they don’t let us out in traffic.

Even when they are obnoxious.

Even when it was really our fault.

Even when they are arrogant.

Even when they are right.

Even when we need to forgive.

Even when they need to forgive.

Even when it’s a messy situation.

Even when they go behind our backs.

Even when we break a commitment.

Even when they break our trust.

Even when we think it can’t get any worse… and it does.

Even when etc. happens.

No
Matter
What.

God commands us to love others. And to disobey God is sin.

And our goal here is to work-off the sin-fat.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1, NIV, italics added)

So why did Jesus decide that love is the greatest commandment? Glad you asked… because love covers everything. A proud heart is eliminated by love. Lustful desires are removed by love. Envy, self-indulgence and resentment are all eradicated by a truly loving heart. True love covers everything. You cannot be jealous of your neighbors new car if your true, heartfelt love for your neighbor is genuine; similarly, you cannot be too proud to help another person if you honestly love that person with the love that God blesses you with. Love is the hinge on which every other direction hangs on. The author of I Corinthians explains, “13there are three things that will endure—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love” (13:13, NLT).

Love is a workout for me. Some people seem to love so easily, but not me. For me, loving others is like spending a day in the gym, diligently working, sweating, burning fat, and training to understand more about the life God has planned for me. I don’t see this as a negative; I use it as a positive. When we work hard for what we want we appreciate things more. As I work out this love issue in my life I am reminded of just how much Christ loves me and wants me to strive to be like Him [Check out II Corinthians 5:21]. Our goal, our direction, our exercise is to love – love God with our everything and love everyone else the way that God wants us to love ourselves. My favorite verse as translated by The Message Bible is I Timothy 1:5:

5The whole point of what we're urging is simply love--love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God.

I think the Apostle Paul nailed it… our workout is to love – uncontaminated, unpolluted, and untainted; just pure, clean, simple… love.

The Biggest Loser: Week 1-4

Diet

I like "The Biggest Loser". I’m not a fan of many reality shows [actually, I only admit to liking three: "The Biggest Loser", "The Next Food Network Star" (that’s irony for you), and "Celebrity Apprentice" (I just can’t live without The Donald)], but I do enjoy watching "The Biggest Loser".

If you’re not a fan, here is how it works. Overweight contestants are chosen and are fed right, worked hard, and are emotionally challenged in order to be the overall winner. The contestants chosen are generally in the 400 to 600 pound range and, at the end of the season, generally lose down to around 180 to 220 pounds. It is simply amazing.

I once watched another program featuring a man that would have been an excellent contestant for The Biggest Loser. My wife likes to watch those programs on cable T.V. that show babies being born or tumors removed. I could care less about watching one of those programs; however, in between a program about a tumor being detached from a small intestine and fully developed healthy baby being born in someone’s living room, there was a program about people that were addicted to food. It must have been on TLC or the Discovery Channel, but it was actually an expose on people who couldn’t stop eating. We’ll call the man I remember most Ray. Ray had an eating problem. At Ray’s largest weight he topped the scales at around 570 pounds. Ray was unhappy, unhealthy and uncomfortable, so he decided to do something about it. Through hard work Ray lost down to an astonishing 200 pounds! It was amazing… he didn’t even look the same. According to the documentary he gained global notoriety as an overweight man who had his weight under control. However, the story does not end there. Once Ray had lost all the weight he wanted to celebrate, so he went to his favorite restaurant where they served his favorite chilidogs. His intention was to celebrate with only one… but that’s not all he ate. In his own terms he ate the one, but thought another wouldn’t be bad… so he ate two. Two turned into four, four into eight and eight in to 27 [27ish, I really can’t recall the actual number… but it was a lot!]. At the end of the documentary, Ray had topped his original highest weight and was confined to a wheel chair and an oxygen mask. Due to a medical emergency, a rescue team had to tear down a wall at his house and move him to the hospital on a wooden pallet with a flat bed truck because the ambulance was not big enough. Ray had once again become a victim to what controlled him.

Any contestant on The Biggest Loser will tell you that they didn’t secure their spot on T.V. by eating like a bird and drinking water all day long. No, just like Ray, all of them [and many of us] have experienced the wrong diet.

Maybe it’s only me, but I don’t believe the term diet is a quality term anymore. When I hear the word “diet” it congers up in me the thoughts of going two or three weeks without something so I can go to some sort of reunion. However, only logic tells you that if you eat double cheese burgers and fries everyday and gain 50 pounds, once you lose that 50 pounds by “dieting” and then resume the cheese burger-fry diet you will once again gain back 50 pounds or more. Therefore, I think “lifestyle change” is a better, more quality term to use when referring to what’s expected of us when it comes to keeping the weight off.

A lifestyle change is a desire to re-prioritize some things in our life. When dealing with food, a lifestyle change would mean less junk and more quality food – forever.

This may sound way too elementary, but it is true… you eat too much junk and you’ll hold too much junk. The same is true with sin. The resemblance between being overweight and sin is impossible to ignore. Take the example of Ray. Ray was weighed down with body fat until he decided to do something about it. Through “dieting” he eliminated the majority of that fat, but one meal on top of another meal resulted in his being weighed down more than he was before becasue he became a victim of what controlled him.

This is how sin-fat in our lives works as well. We think one sin will not hurt… but if one doesn’t hurt why not try two. Two turns to four, four to eight, and before you know it you are so weighed down with sin-fat that you can hardly breathe... because we become victims to sin. That’s why we need a diet, or lifestyle change, in our spiritual life to help keep us spiritually healthy.

What does a spiritual lifestyle diet look like? Glad you asked!

Just like a physical lifestyle diet, our Spiritual Lifestyle Diet (SLD) consists of two areas: What we take in and how much we take in.

What we take in:

As mentioned before, you can’t expect to eat cheeseburgers everyday and lose weight. Why, because cheeseburgers aren’t a healthy food. Good - yes, healthy… no. Cheeseburgers, especially good cheeseburgers, are loaded with fat, carbs, calories, oil, grease, polymonosaturated diclorimethaline [okay… maybe not that…], and all kinds of other non-mentionables that could lead to obesity [at the very best]. To lose physical weight, you can’t take in that kind of junk on a regular basis. On the other hand, eating only lettuce for every meal will never give you the proper sustenance for a healthy body. There needs to be a good balance that gives the best food available that offers the best nourishment available. The same is true with our SLD.

We are consistently being bombarded with junk to take in. Grocery store isles have magazines stuffed with garbage for us to graze on. Television is like an endless buffet of trash that lends itself to our ever-budging belt line. Movies, music, video games and internet offer endless opportunities to fill us with violence, sexual immorality, anger, rage, fear, self-denial, bitterness, hatred, and etc. All of this is just like the junk we find on our plates, and all the while our sin-fat is building up – and as it builds up it manifests itself in our lives.

So what can we do to keep things from building up? The first thing we need is stable staples. Physical staples include veggies, fruit, lean meat, whole grains, and so on. For our SLD we look the Bible to be our standard staple. The author of the book of Psalms understood this as he wrote in chapter 119:

1You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by GOD.
2You're blessed when you follow his directions,doing your best to find him.
3That's right--you don't go off on your own;you walk straight along the road he set.
4You, GOD, prescribed the right way to live;now you expect us to live it.
5Oh, that my steps might be steady,keeping to the course you set;
6Then I'd never have any regretsin comparing my life with your counsel.
7I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
8I'm going to do what you tell me to do;don't ever walk off and leave me.
9How can a young person live a clean life?By carefully reading the map of your Word.
10I'm single-minded in pursuit of you;don't let me miss the road signs you've posted. (The Message, italics added)

The Bible is our constant staple. It is what motivates and inspires, convicts and condemns our every action. This Bible, the Word of God, should be what drives us to every decision we make, every opportunity we see, and every action we engage in. This Word should be our strongest influence of energy. In the Bible we have hope, we have future, we have health. Consuming the Bible will result in a healthy, sin-fat free life [refer again to verse 9].


Another portion in our SLD are good Christian authors. These authors serve as side items on our plate… but never as the main entrée, which is reserved for the Bible. Some authors I respect (in no particular order) include: Erwin McManus, Rick Warren, Mike Yaconelli, Andy Stanley, Louie Giglio, and Doug Fields. These are men that I believe can complement the entrée, but not over power it. I believe they would all agree with I Psalms 119:103-104:

103 How sweet are your words to my taste; they are sweeter than honey.
104 Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life. (NLT)

How much we take in:

This is probably more debatable than desirable, but in any physical lifestyle change you have to monitor the amount of food you take in. No matter what you eat, healthy or unhealthy, too much can cause complications. I believe our SLD is no different.

When it comes to reading and studying the Bible, I consider bite-sized portions to be healthier than big chunks. Why? Bigger chunks are harder to swallow, but bite-sized portions digest easier. We are programmed to compute only so much information at given times. When my wife asks me to make a very serious decision, she understands that she will not receive an instant answer. I require time to dwell on the subject before I can deliver a verdict. She also knows that if she gives me too much to dwell on at one time she will never get an answer on anything – because I am not programmed to compute that much information. This is how our SLD works. We can only take in so much before it all becomes numb. This is one reason that I don’t encourage people to read through the Bible in a year [at least not on the first go-around]. When you begin trying to digest three to four or maybe five chapters in one sitting the information becomes blurry and the act of reading turns into a sacrifice rather than a desire [not all people are programmed the same… if you can digest 4, 5, 18 chapters in one sitting be my guest. I cannot]. Please don’t misunderstand… if you are finding pleasure in reading and are grasping the text, continue by all means. However, if it is difficult to wrap your thoughts around, it might be best to cut it into bite-sized portions.

So there you have it… a healthy meal consists of healthy food and healthy portions [easy enough, right]. Now, if we will apply that to our spiritual discipline of studying God’s Word we should be on our way in no time towards a lifestyle as described in Hebrews 12:1… “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (NIV)

Guilty

“I’m so sorry, it was an accident”, but it was no accident. The older man glanced up from his paperwork, a smirk of disapproval across his face. “What if I promise never do it again?” I was begging – hoping, praying that my groveling would encourage him to understand. The number 73 was still shining brightly above the radio, ahead the sign boldly stated 55 – there was no mistaking it. With a look of compassion and conviction the gentleman quietly explained, “I have to write you this ticket… you broke the law… you’re guilty”.

._._._._._._._._._.

Congratulations!

You and I have something in common… we’re both sinners. This, however, is not why I am congratulating you.

We killed Jesus. [Still, not a reason to celebrate.]

Actually, our sin killed Jesus. We are all guilty of sin – repulsive, filthy, ugly, putrid, disgusting, nauseating, rancid sin. We are born to sin. It is our nature, our instinct, and our impulse. We do not learn sin; we are embedded with sin. Sin is a common characteristic of every human being ever created, except one… Jesus – and our sin killed Him.

Sin keeps us from experiencing the freedom of life. Oddly, it is in sin that we feel most free; however, sin actually constricts all freedom. We wallow in sin, embrace it and dance with it. We let sin lead. Sin motivates our decisions and encourages our actions. We are good at sin and we are all excellent sinners… but to live in sin is to live in slavery. Jesus [the one our sin killed] put it this way, 34”I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-36, NIV). Now, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:24), but Jesus’ purpose is, “to give life in all its fullness” (John 10:10b, NLT). We choose to live in sin.

A short lesson on the history of God verses sin explains why Jesus was so adamantly against it.

Adam and Eve: Eve was enticed by the serpent to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (although God had told them not to – that it would cause death). Adam saw that it was good too, and through this action sin entered the world. Adam and Eve were kicked out of paradise and the serpent went crawling.

Noah: The world was becoming more wicked. God chose one man and his family in which to spare and begin the rebuilding process of His people. Noah and his family spent 40 days and 40 nights aboard the ark with a zoo full of animals. Everyone else was eliminated.

Moses and the Ten Commandments: God saw that the people were once again getting into too much mischief… engaging in sinful activities and worshipping objects other than Himself. He chose Moses to lead his people and gave them a list of warning signs that would help keep them on the course. He promised them the Promised Land, but they didn’t believe that He would deliver. They all wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.

God’s Prophets: The world grew in population. Technology was on the rise and new areas were being inhabited. Sin was abundant and God’s Law was not being adhered to very well. God began sending His messengers (prophets) to lead the people back to where they needed to be. Some listened… others declined. God got mad; the prophets pleaded to God for the people – another example of God’s love.

The Silent Treatment: Between where the Old Testament ends and the New Testament begins [we call this the Intertestamental Period] there was 400 years of Silence on God’s part. Things were still happening, only God chose to be quiet – which He did until he sent an angel to visit the father of John the Baptist.

Jesus Christ Superstar: Never watched the musical of the same name, but when Jesus entered the scene He spent his time loving the riff-raff and opposing the religious monarchy. In fulfilling what the Old Testament Prophets affirmed, He came to bring the world back to God and proclaimed that living in sin was living in prison. He became angry with what had become of “religion” and took matters into His own hands.

Death and Resurrection: The death and resurrection of Jesus was the most triumphant event ever for all of civilization. When Jesus died on the cross, He took with him all the sin that humanity would ever produce. His death was the only way to redeem sinful man and offer an escape hatch from what mankind had become. His death was the ultimate sacrifice, and Jesus paid the price that no one would ever be able to pay (For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16. KJV)

The death and resurrection of Jesus was the only way we could ever be truly free from sin. Some may say, “Why didn’t God just abolish sin all together?” The answer is simply that God is a Gentleman. Gentlemen never impose anything on anyone. They will encourage and inspire you to be your best, but a true gentleman will allow you to make your decision. God does not force us to be His followers. He does, however, offer us free will When I was eleven years old I was infatuated with a girl I met at the roller skating rink. I just knew we would be together forever [which I am thankful was not the case], but I’m sure she just knew that she had no idea who I was. Had I had the power to force her to be my girlfriend she would have been, but not because it was her idea [in other words, no free will]… it would have been because of my choosing. When we have the power of free will to choose what we want to be associated with, we put more emphasis on what that is, and God wants us to choose Him; God wants us to put emphasis on Him.

Jesus did not die to eliminate sin; rather, He died to erase sin from our past. Sin is still running wild in the vast abyss of the future and, while Christ’s death and resurrection covers all sin, we should not continue sinning just so we can experience more of God’s love. Instead, Followers of Christ should take the advice that the author of Hebrews offers:
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3, NIV)

So, what does it take to throw off the sin that so easily entangles, and experience the true freedom of life? Discipline. Over the next four weeks I will discuss some things that can help untangle the sin mess in our lives. I am no pro, but I do believe there are some pretty basic steps that can point us in the right direction.

So, congratulations! There’s something we can do to take the weight off!

Get ready, because we all have to weigh in.