10 Myths About Body Image

Your body image is what you see when you look in a mirror or when you picture yourself in your mind. And a body image issue is a self-worth issue due to a negative perception of one’s own physical appearance. 

The primary goal of this article is to help men and women blame themselves for their body image issues, in the hope that they will then repent, run to Christ and submit to God’s word. Yep, you heard me right. Society doesn’t “cause” body image issues. For Christians, believing our society instead of believing God is the cause of body image issues. As long as Christians, whether male or female, can blame others (their societies) for their body image issues, they will never repent and find relief. Relief is found in believing God and submitting to Him, by the Holy Spirit through the Son to the Father.

Therefore, if you embrace these 10 myths, you will find no relief from your body image issues. Instead, you will embrace sin and rebellion against God. For the sake of your joy in God’s glory, embrace the truth and reject these 10 myths about your body image:

1. “I have body image issues because I’m human.” No, you have body image issues because you’re a sinner. Humans in glory have no body image issues. It is a product of the fall, not of creation.

2. “I have body image issues because men and women in magazines, movies, and TV are photo-shopped.” No, you have body image issues because you want to look like those men and women. You want to be made in their image. Maybe you were not made to look like that. But you’re not content to reflect God (Gen. 1:26-27).

3. “I have body image issues because potential dates think men or women should look like celebrities.” No, you have body image issues because you care more about what sinners think than what God thinks. That is not to say that you shouldn’t want to look good for a date. It is to say that desiring to look good for a date or for your spouse is not the same as having a body image issue and blaming others for it.

4. “I have body image issues because I live in a superficial society.” No, you have body image issues because you are superficial. If you weren’t superficial, you would reject your superficial society’s opinion of your appearance instead of agreeing with them.

5. “I have body image issues because I desire marriage.” No, you have body image issues because you desire marriage for your glory instead of God’s glory. Marriage is a reflection of the gospel, a reflection of Christ’s love for the church and the church’s love for Christ (Eph 5:21-33). If you desire to reflect Christ’s love for the church or the church’s love for Christ through marriage, then you will not be superficial or seek to marry someone who is superficial. Physical beauty fades, but a heart captivated by the beauty of Christ perseveres eternally. A person who ultimately desires a spouse whose heart is captivated by the beauty of Christ will not have body image issues due to “desiring marriage,” for you know that your potential spouse is not ultimately marrying you for your physical appearance.

6. “I have body image issues because popular people have better bodies than me.” No, you have body image issues because you’re not content in God, and thus, you are jealous and covetous of other image-bearers.

7. “I have body image issues because I’m ugly and I hate my body.” No, you have body image issues because you hate the One who designed your body: God. If you believe this, you believe God is ugly. Since you have been created in God’s image for the purpose of reflecting Him, to call His reflection (you) “ugly” is to call Him ugly. 

8. “I have body image issues because physical beauty is overemphasized in my culture.” No, you have body image issues because you, like your culture, overemphasize physical beauty.

9. “I have body image issues because I don’t compliment myself enough.” No, you have body image issues because you don’t compliment God enough for His wonderful creation (you).

10. “I have body image issues because I’m not working hard enough to fix my physical imperfections.” No, you have body image issues because you’re not repenting of believing that aspects of God’s image are “physical imperfections that must be fixed.” Neither diet, nor exercise, nor cosmetic surgery will fix the reason why you believe aspects of His image are “physical imperfections that must be fixed.” Your heart is the problem, not your physical appearance. Working hard to “fix your physical imperfections” will not fix your heart; only repentance and faith in Christ will.

What, then, is the answer for those who have body image issues?

To answer your concerns about your body image, you must first admit that it is sin to reject God’s truth, to reject your identity and to value yourself as something less than God’s image. You were created to reflect God, to image Him (Gen 1:26-27). You were fearfully and wonderfully made, knit together by God in your mother’s womb (Ps 139:13-14). Your appearance is not accidental. It was designed by God!

This is not to say that one must reject makeup, deodorant, perfume, exercise, diet, or even a desire to be more attractive for your spouse or potential spouse but is only to say that one’s value of oneself and opinion of oneself is defined by God, not man. As long as we are content in God for being made in His image, and content with His valuation of us, we are free in Christ to alter our appearance, shape, smell, etc, for His glory. In other words, we are free in Christ to express His image in different ways, so long as we do not alter our humanity or masculinity or femininity. But we are never free in Christ to devalue His image!

Therefore, the answer to our body image issues is constant repentance of sin and trust in Christ. We must believe God rather than man, including believing God over our own hearts and our own evaluations. We must take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor 10:5). We were created to reflect the beauty of God. Every human being does so regardless of the opinions of our fellow image-bearers. Our worth, and the worth of our physical appearance comes from our Creator, and He said that we’re “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps 139:14).

Do we believe Him?