Body Dysmorphic Disorder
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Corinthians 5:21
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
Romans 3:21-22a
The devotional’s title refers to a mental disorder in which a person fixates on a slight or even perceived physical flaw, often to the point of becoming obsessed with fixing it or covering it up. People with body dysmorphic disorder have an inaccurate view of themselves, which can lead to feelings of self-consciousness or anxiety all the way to the repeated consulting with medical experts like plastic surgeons or dermatologists in an effort to fix the problem. What the person who suffers sees in the mirror drastically differs from what actually exists. It was estimated in 2018 upwards of 3% of the general population, or 5 million to 10 million people in the US alone, have this condition. Thankfully, it is treatable through a combination of therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes like exercise and the avoidance of drugs and alcohol.
Spiritually, a similar condition exists, though I daresay that it’s much more pervasive throughout the body of Christ. In this condition, how the person sees him- or herself drastically differs from how God sees him or her. This person, although a follower of Jesus Christ, knows of his or her sin, and despite understanding the concept of how Christ’s sacrifice at the cross took on the punishment for said sin, cannot truly accept the fact that their sin is forgotten by an all-powerful and all-knowing God. Because they know what they did, and how egregious their sin was, they cannot fathom that the God of the universe could still love them. This disconnect can cause the sufferer to pull away from God, ashamed of their sin nature.
Friends, I know people who know that they know that they know that their salvation is secure. They know that they are loved by the Lord. They uplift those around them, praying for and serving their brothers and sisters in Christ, as we are all called to do. They attend church, participate in bible studies and are those whom I would consider spiritually mature in their walk with the Lord. They are stalwarts of Christian faith. And yet…sometimes in the quiet moments of their lives, the enemy reminds them of that sin they committed lo those years ago… that big one—that one that would church leaders to wag fingers and point…that one that would cause them to lose all spiritual credibility among their friends—that sin’s memory looms so large that it blocks the view of the light and brings with it darkness, distance, and shame. In such a state, when this person looks in the mirror spiritually, they fixate on the ugliness of their wretched condition, convinced that the Lord and everyone else sees them for who they truly are: a sinner unworthy of the love of the Father.
Poppycock! (I did want to write something stronger but…I thought better of it). Lord Jesus was righteous—He did not sin, and to fulfill God’s plan to reconcile sinful us to Himself, Jesus willingly died, taking on the punishment for our sin. It is in this act that He imputed His righteousness to us. On the topic of imputed righteousness, the website gotquestions.org says, “Through our faith in Christ, the righteousness of God is given to us. This is called “imputed” righteousness. To impute something is to ascribe or attribute something to someone. When we place our faith in Christ, God ascribes the perfect righteousness of Christ to our account so that we become perfect in His sight…..We are not righteous in ourselves; rather, we possess Christ’s righteousness applied to our account. It is not our perfection, but Christ’s that God sees when He brings us into fellowship with Himself.” It doesn’t matter what we have done, how many times we did, what we will do in the future—if we accept Jesus as our Savior, we receive His righteousness. When the Lord of the Universe looks at us, He sees us adorned in the gloriousness of the robes of righteousness. We praise and shout hallelujah because we didn’t do anything to earn this treasured gift. As the Casting Crowns song goes—“Not because of who I am/But because of what You've done/Not because of what I've done/
But because of who You are.”
Friends, the next time the enemy reminds you of your sin, tell him to go pound sand. Don’t listen to his lies – bask in the overwhelming love of Christ, and see yourself as a child of the King!
Prayer Requests
Prayers for:
Speedy convalescence from surgeries for Joe Furnish and Lori Grimes, and encouragement for their respective caregivers
Dora Santillano, who is grieving at the loss of her beloved brother JP
Dell Sheftall, who fell and aggravated an old back injury
Please know that I am praying for you. How my heart longs for you to know the freedom and the joy there is in being His child.
Quotes
“For a Christian, this world is the only hell they will know. For the unbeliever, this world is the only heaven they will know.”
“Though you have changed a thousand times, He has not changed once.”