The Biggest Loser: Week 4-4

Rest

In the last three installments we have discussed three visible attributes to the television show “The Biggest Loser”: diet, workout and the challenge. However, there is a fourth attribute that is rarely, if ever seen. After all, who would watch two hours of contestants sleeping?

Although it is seldom seen, rest is one of the most important qualities to losing weight [I read on AOL news that seven hours of sleep a night could help one maintain or lose weight… just by sleeping at least seven hours!] Rest is important, but although it is rarely seen it is often overlooked.

This became a major issue during the spring 2009 series of “The Biggest Loser” as one contestant came head to head with the fact that she just needed to rest. If you have watched the program you know that it is normal for the contestants to lose anywhere from five to thirteen pounds in a given week, especially at the outset. However, as time goes on it becomes tougher to put up big numbers. One particular week Tara didn’t put up a big number, in fact it was a totally discouraging week for her. She couldn’t understand why, after all her work, she hadn’t lost any weight. She had worked extremely hard and eaten extremely healthy but didn’t lose enough weight to show for her effort. Disappointment was an understatement.

You see, Tara was working out a lot… so much in fact she had been missing sleep, and although her workout was intense, her recovery time was suffering. She needed rest. After she adjusted her schedule, paced her self, and made time for rest she once again began losing the big numbers that she needed to stay in the game.

This shouldn’t really shock us, after all, God rested on the seventh day of creation, and since we are made in His image we need to find time to rest too [I understand God didn’t “need” rest but instead modeled rest for His creation].

Again, the parallel between being physically overweight and being spiritually loaded down with sin-fat are too obvious to discount. If rest is necessary for the loss of physical-fat, then it is only obvious that rest is essential for the loss of sin-fat.

Jesus, the Master Trainer, said it this way, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NASV).

Now, when I think of rest I think of relaxation – I think of comfort. In the spring of 2007, my wife gave birth to our son. We arrived at the hospital on Friday evening; however, Jack didn’t show up until Saturday afternoon. The way I like to think of this is the time between checking in to the hospital and the actual arrival of our son was the complete opposite of comfort – in fact it was very uncomfortable. Twice during the night we made 45-minute walks around the hospital halls [apparently walking aids in baby delivery], we were both starving because you aren’t allowed to eat when you’re about to have a baby [although I had made a secret, emergency run to Wendy’s when I moved the car], and when they did hook Bethany up to a monitor it would alarm every 30-minutes or so [I am leaving out the archaic “husband” chair they expect the significant other to rest on simply because I am trying to eliminate this from my memory]. Oh, and of course the labor pains and all that the mommy incurs are painful and uncomfortable too, I’m sure [I really am sure… I’m not man enough to go through that myself!]. Baby delivery is physically exhausting. Only once Jack arrived and we knew he was in capable hands could we search for rest; only then could we look for comfort.

Lets face it, our lives are a workout. Every day we are forced with new obstacles to climb and hurdles to jump, and every day we constantly search for comfort. Some of us try to find comfort in food, while others find comfort in repetition. For some, the “known” offers the safety net of comfort, whereas the “unknown” builds tension and anxiety. Most of the time comfort is not found in adventure or discipline but it is found in the mundane, day-to-day activity of going through the motions. We are all searching for comfort…

And all the while Jesus is inviting us, "Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest” (NCV).

Understand, God never invites His people to find comfort in anything but Him. Yes, there’s going to be trials, challenges, and temptations, but we are only invited to find comfort in Christ. Any other attempt to find comfort is an attempt to manufacture our own comfort, and when we manufacture our own comfort we don’t have to rely on God’s comfort.

Lets unpack this further. Why do financial institutions freak out during an economic crises? Because their comfort is in manufactured in their finances. Why do drug users freak out without drugs? Because their comfort is manufactured in their next fix. Why do church people freak out over a change in worship order? Because their comfort is manufactured in a tradition [I believe tradition is good if there is reason behind it but bad when it becomes the thing we worship]. Why do we freak out at the first sign of a new opportunity? Because we manufacture comfort in our human limitations.

However, God never invites His people to find comfort in anything but Him.

We are closest to God when we find rest/comfort in God. When we are stressed, tired and vulnerable is when we truly rely on God; when we rely on God is when God can mold us into who He has designed us to be. After we have eaten the right foods, diligently trained, and overcome challenges we need the recovery time that only rest can bring.
Just as in our physical weight loss so it is in our spiritual work-off of sin-fat: it’s time for rest when stress and weakness takeover. As the disciple Peter explains, “…6 humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you. 7Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you” (I Peter 5:6-7, NLT).

That’s reassuring… God cares about you and wants you to trust Him!

Are you tired? Do you need rest? God is inviting you to find comfort in Him.

The Biggest Loser: Week 3-4

Challenge

“The Biggest Loser” is a game show. When the dust settles and the winner is standing victoriously it will all come down to who played the game the best. That’s it… period. Along the way there are some great times, some will lose a lot of weight, and some will have changed their lives forever… but ultimately, The Biggest Loser will be that individual that played the game the best.

One deciding factor in what makes, or breaks, a Biggest Loser contestant is how he or she handles himself or herself during a challenge. In case you don’t know, the show isn’t only about eating correctly and vigorously working out; it is also about mental stamina. This is an aspect of the game that can really twist the end results in a hurry. During the coarse of the show, the contestants are required to involve themselves in various “challenges”. Often, the challenges are both mentally and physically demanding – like an obstacle coarse, a rope climb, or a stamina inspired waiting game; however, my favorite challenge is one that is totally mental in nature: the temptation.

Here’s how the temptation works: the contestants are faced with a room full of calorie and fat filled foods, of which they are allowed to eat as much as they want. Usually, the one that eats the most will receive a monetary prize… $500 - $5000. However, eating the most has a big price to pay. The contestants are faced with the temptation to eat as much as they can for the cash, or deny the calories for less weight on the scale.

It could really play with your mind.

Because that is what temptation does.

In real life we are all faced with temptations. Okay, so they aren’t always food for cash, but we do play the “this for that” game. Face it; we’ve all been tempted.

Temptations come in all shapes and sizes. Some people are tempted by food, others by tax evasion. Some by infidelity while others by illegally copying compact disks. Some people are even tempted during a simple drive to the store. One day, as I was driving along, minding my own business at the “suggested” speed, another motorist came along insisting that I pursue my location a bit faster. He followed me ever so closely [I could tell he had a uni-brow from my rear view mirror] until we reached a point in the road where he could pass, which he did with great enthusiasm. Now, I was faced with a dilemma: should I (a) allow this kind, compassionate, inpatient motorist to forge ahead with no complications, or (b) ride his tail like a baby bull frog on his momma… giving him a piece of his own medicine. Temptations can be tough – temptations make you choose.

You see, “The Biggest Loser” television show is all about the elimination of fat and the strengthening of muscle, which makes the food temptation so difficult. These people have a bad background with food. Similarly, as humans we deal with sin-fat on a daily basis – we’ve covered that… we know the spiritual diet and we know the spiritual workout. However, because we live in a fallen world we still have to deal with temptations, and we have a bad background with all that keeps us from being everything God intended us to be.

During Jesus’ time on earth He dealt with the same temptation issues you and I deal with daily. He had to in order to complete his mission. In fact, three of the four gospels record His famous temptation.

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your Godand him only shall you serve.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. (Matthew 4:1-11, ESV)

This is a classic passage. It really couldn’t be any easier to dissect. As Matthew [and Mark, and Luke] point out, Jesus faced temptation issues just as we all do. There are, however, a few key points to wrap our thoughts around.

First, understand that Jesus was tempted. Remember, Jesus knew no sin because He was, after all, the only perfect person to walk on this earth. I make that point for clarity… to be tempted is not sin; to fall into temptation is sin. I once heard a friend say that if you think “it” you might as well do “it”, because to think “it” is just as bad as the sin itself. I don’t agree. From the beginning of time God blessed His creation with free will, and the beauty of free will is that we have the choice to make our own decisions. My opinion is that God is glorified when we make decisions based on what honors Him. To be tempted is not to sin, it is to be human; however, humans do have the capacity to fall into temptation, which is sin.

Second, notice when Jesus was tempted. 2 “And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came..” Jesus, the Savior of the world, God in human form, the alpha and omega (the beginning and the end)… was tempted when He was weak. Being weak is a great time to be tempted, isn’t it? Think about it, we are never easily tempted at our strongest points. No, it’s seemingly when we are low on cash, worn out, or just plain tired of our socioeconomic condition that we seem to be tempted the most.

We are tempted when we are weak, and we are going to be weak from time to time. The passage doesn’t say, “If the tempter would have come”, instead it reads, “And the tempter came”. The fact is we are going to be tempted, and no one is exempt – because we all become weak.

Finally, observe Jesus’ response to the temptations. His first reaction is in reference to His own physical state, after all, He is hungry. The tempter encourages Him to turn stones into bread, in which Jesus responds by quoting an Old Testament passage:

“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:3, italics added)

The second situation came as a question to Jesus’ own deity. The tempter states, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,”‘ He will command his angels concerning you, and,”‘ On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone’” (verse 6). Two things stand out in this temptation. First, the word “if” is a strong word. The phrase, “if you are,” is nothing more than a call to prove oneself – basically a, “if you can do it, prove it” type of command. Jesus, however, had no reason to prove His divinity by jumping from a high point only to be rescued by angels. Could He have done it? Of course! But He chose not to because he wanted to prove His deity through the cross.

Second, the tempter utilizes a slick move in quoting scripture although out of context. Psalms 91:11-12 states:

11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone. (NASV, bold script added)

In this attempt, the tempter “adjusts” the words of the psalmist by leaving out the phrase, “To guard you in all your ways”, in which to say, “You can do it, Jesus; the Bible promises that You’ll be rescued”. The Coffman Commentary explains that Satan's purpose in quoting Scripture is not to heed God's word but to thwart it.

Again, Jesus didn’t need to prove His deity and therefore countered with another quote from Deuteronomy:

"You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.” (6:16, NASV, italics added)

Jesus knew that to call upon God for such a demonstration was an attempt to control God, which the scriptures state is prohibited.

The third temptation attacked Jesus in the form of greed. In this temptation, the tempter offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and the glory that comes from ruling them, if only Jesus would bow down and worship him. In a nutshell, this temptation was a way for Christ to avoid the cross. Think about it, why did God send Jesus in the first place? To endure the cross in order to make a way to God because sin had so corrupted the world (kingdoms and their glories) that only Jesus conquering death, hell and the grave could repair. Of course the tempter wanted Jesus to accept this offer because Jesus’ death and resurrection is what gives humanity its hope.

Jesus, again, opposed this temptation with the command for Satan to leave immediately and once again quoted from Deuteronomy:

"Respect the LORD your God. You must worship him and make your promises only in his name.” (6:13, NCV)

I think it is safe to assume that Jesus had had enough at this point. His physical state, deity, and passion had been tested and it was time to bring it to an end. He commands the tempter to “be gone” in which the tempter had no choice but to comply. Jesus had won, and in doing so proved that God’s word, which is the truth, is the one and only effective counter to Satan’s deception.

Interestingly, our physical state, beliefs and passions are tempted quite regularly if not exclusively. We are tempted when we are weak, when we doubt and when our emotions are provoked. Temptation to sin is a part of life. We get tangled up in sin [as Hebrews 12:1 (NIV) explains, “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”], and the only way to get untangled is to know what God’s word says. This is why our diet in God’s word and our spiritual workout is so important, so we can prevent temptations when they come our way. We do this through scripture memorization. Memorizing scripture, just as Jesus did, is the only sure fire way to deal with our temptations.

Because temptation can really play with your mind, since that is what temptation does.

Sure, Jesus could have just told Satan to leave because He was God in the flesh, and it would have worked; however, Jesus chose to model scripture memorization for us so that we would understand His word and know God’s will for our lives. By understanding God’s word and finding God’s will for our lives the opportunity for temptation to play with our mind is decreased considerably.

There is no doubt that sin temptations are tough. When we fail them [and we will fail them from time to time] we are robbed of the opportunity to represent Jesus and live up to all that God wants us to be. Speaking of failing temptations, are you still wondering about what choice I made that day on the way to the store? Lets just say I didn’t act very Christ like. Had Jesus been in my place He would have probably said, “Love your neighbors as yourself” [see “The Biggest Loser- Workout”]. I attempted to give him a piece of his own medicine, but what I learned was that temptation could really play with my mind, twist the facts and hinder my witness. In the words of John 10:10, “The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My (Jesus’) purpose is to give life in all its fullness.” Life in Christ is life outside of sin; therefore, to win the challenge we need to avoid getting tangled up in the sin of temptation.