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“A tranquil heart is life to the body, but jealousy is rottenness to the bones.” —Proverbs 14:30 CSB

It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of comparison where we evaluate our own worth against the appearance of others. Ads, social media, movies, and television lay this trap out for us, telling us that only one type of body size is beautiful, acceptable, and healthy. We take this in, consciously or unconsciously, and use this problematic standard to compare ourselves to our friends, neighbors, and family. In the process, we try to decide if we are close enough to the standard to be beautiful. This is a problem in and of itself, but we also use this standard to reassure ourselves of our standing in society.

We allow jealousy and judgment to secure us in this trap, as we think hurtful untruths we would never say out loud like, At least I’m not as big as her, or, She is so skinny, so she must be so happy, or, She must be unhealthy; I’m doing better than her. Although it’s difficult, we have to recognize and address this phobia against bodies of different sizes so we can free ourselves from the comparison trap, stepping into healing our relationship with our own bodies.

Our outward appearance will never tell the full story of our health: mental, emotional, and physical. Yet we have gotten so used to using it as our main measuring stick to determine worth and goodness. So today, whether you are much bigger, much smaller, or around the same size as those in your immediate circle, may you liberate yourself from the jealousy and judgment and instead embrace your size as an intentional part of who you are.

To develop a “tranquil heart” (Proverbs 14:30 CSB), as today’s verse references, we develop eyes to see the pitfalls our size-obsessed culture has designed for us. When you catch yourself judging someone based on their weight, ask yourself: Is this person created in the image of God? What do I seek to accomplish by judging their weight against my own? How else can I fill this need to judge and compare? This awareness of our own faulty thinking not only brings clarity in our connection with our body but also can draw us to God in prayer. Through our relationship with Him, lies are replaced with truth and judgment is replaced with joy. God created you in His image, and He knew what size you would be.

Embracing Wholeness: I can acknowledge and resist jealousy and comparison today, knowing that God created me and blessed me as I am.