Every Body Matters by Gary Thomas

Why is it that so many Christians decide that physical strength doesn't matter and doesn't affect their heart, soul, and mind?  Why is it that we make so many excuses for our lack of discipline when it comes to the physical things but we think that we are so disciplined in other areas?  How can we be a disciplined person when this one area is the one that we decide to overlook?

When I was first asked to review this book, I was pretty hesitant.  It took several days for me to think about it because I figured it would be another book on health full of information we all know but many choose not to apply.  However, after realizing that Gary Thomas wrote it and the fact that I love Sacred Marriage and Sacred Parenting by him, I decided to go for it.  I'm so thankful I did!  I highly recommend this book so that one can begin recognizing the connection between the sin of letting our bodies go so that we are of no further use to the Kingdom of God.  Gary doesn't talk about the fact that obesity is a sin.  Instead, he talks about the addiction of food and how we don't lump it in the same category as other sins of addiction, like alcohol, drugs, etc.  Some say that the Bible doesn't talk about being overweight so it's okay.  I would argue that gluttony is in the Bible and is considered a sin.

Gary brings out some interesting points about how the men of faith, like Paul for example, was pelted with stones, dragged outside the city, and left for dead.  Gary writes "If his persecutors thought he was dead, Paul must have been pretty beat-up.  Yet we're also told that after they left him, Paul 'got up and went back into the city, and the next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.'  The next day!  For the record, Derbe was over sixty miles from Lystra.  A physically weak man could never have recovered like that."  I loved this comparison because we usually think of these men as someone who is strong spiritually and forget that they also had the physical endurance to press on for God.  I think that is why faith is often likened to a race.  They knew perseverance.  But do we?  Do we know perseverance and endurance not just spiritually but also physically?

This book is a great resource and reminder that our bodies need to be in shape.  It's not so that we do the "cultural thing" or so we look more appealing.  It's so our bodies are ready to carry out the work of God.  If we're out of shape, how can we possibly serve to the best of our ability when it comes to the physical things that people in the Church and community need help from Christians to do?

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I received this book free from Zondervan in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.