With the
Halloween spirit in the air, accompanied by a plethora of candy, one woman had
taken it upon herself to pass out these gem notes to the overweight children.
This woman
plans to give notes to children who appear "moderately obese" in
hopes that the message will shame their parents into rationing their supply of
Halloween candy.
And we’re off and running with disordered food, weight and
body image issues. Fantastic.
Seriously, children are already having a tough enough time
with these issues. Check out these stats on disordered eating:
· 10% report onset at 10 years or younger
· 33% report
onset between ages of 11-15
Is that the direction we want to go with our children, just
to keep them from being “fat?” After all, we never know what is triggering
someone. Scripture, again, gives a warning about having insensitivity toward
others who may be struggling with Achilles heels of any kind:
“But take heed lest by any means this
liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak.”
1 Corinthians 8:9
“Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.
Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the
way of a brother or sister.”
Romans 14:13
And, by making candy forbidden, we subscribe undue added
power and temptation to it. When we’re deprived, what do we do? Obsess about
the forbidden deprivation object all the more.
God gives us a reality check about that:
“All
things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are
lawful for me, but all things edify not.”
1 Corinthians 10:23
“All
things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are
lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”
It’s tricky, at best, for most of. We already have a lot of
warped perceptions, as is.
And a Halloween “fat note” won’t be the quick and forever
“fix.”
It’s about eliminating the power/fear/guilt/shame of any
food. It’s about refusing to poke and point at a child’s body, demanding
perfection or a more “aesthetically pleasing” size or shape. It’s about letting
children be children and, if, indeed, there is a real health problem, getting
professional and loving support and treatment for that issue.
I don’t know what this woman’s heart motives truly are. I
just get extremely uneasy whenever we try, with our own ideas, to steer ANY
child in the diet direction. Without knowing it, we’re setting in motion,
perhaps, lifelong struggles for these very children.
And that never makes for a “happy Halloween.”
Copyright © 2014 by Sheryle Cruse
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