Renewing Your Mind With the Washing of the Word

By Marie Notcheva

Several years ago, I was counseling a young Canadian woman through e-mail. Emma* had been purging daily for several years, and could no longer get through a meal without panic setting in over the calories she was consuming. The image of a successful, trim and attractive woman was highly valued in Emma's family, and she could not help comparing herself to her svelte professional cousins.

She began seeking solace in the very food she feared, gradually becoming enslaved to the binge/purge ritual. She wrote: "I just really want to stop thinking that purging is even an option- it should not be on my mind as I am eating!" She pin-pointed the basic struggle that every bulimic faces constantly. Every sin begins in the mind.

I heard from Emma again recently. Her eating disorder was completely in the past, and she had earned a Master's Degree. This time, she wrote: "It's been so long since I purged, I really can't even imagine doing it anymore. It's hard to believe that was such a big part of my life back then....." What had changed? Emma was transformed by the renewing of her mind.

Paul exhorts believers: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:1-2). We are not to use our bodies to serve the kingdom of darkness, but rather to offer their use in God's service. (Cf. Romans 6:13). Resisting the constant lure of the world and the flesh to sin with our bodies requires vigilance and self-control, both of which are cultivated by prayer. Part of the same process is the internal shift in thinking - deliberately turning away from ungodly and destructive thought patterns to true, biblical ones.

If you are trapped in the cycle of bulimia or anorexia, nothing is going to change until you let God renew your mind. God has chosen to reveal His mind, priorities and desires for His children through His Word, the Bible. If you have been born again, this is probably not a new concept to you - the inerrancy of Scripture is, after all, one of the fundamentals of the Christian faith. However, often even sincere believers can buy into false beliefs about truth, themselves, the world's standards, and even God. How does this happen?

For one thing, our own human nature is inherently dishonest. "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). We are masters at fooling ourselves (through rationalization) and others (by hypocrisy) in more ways than we realize. We have a propensity to see things the way we want to and to play by our own rules if we can get away with it. This is the whole basis on which "doing your own thing" is acceptable. Refusing to agree that there is absolute truth (and that God determines it; not us) has lead to the climate of moral relativity in which we now live. Unfortunately, this proclivity of inventing our own truth often leads people into unbiblical conclusions about God.

Knowing God as He Is

Since Christ is no longer with us physically, without a dynamic relationship with Him and a solid grasp of His revealed nature, there is a temptation to "remake" Christ into our own image. This is why it is so important to stay grounded in the Word of God. To allow God's thoughts to truly become your own, you must commit to spending time each day reading the Bible in order to let His Word seep into your soul. Books about the Bible, while you may glean much from them, are not a substitute for the Bible itself. A study Bible with a concordance will help you get the most out of your devotional time. The best way to start, especially if you have never read the Bible before, is to first read the Gospel of John and then the book of Romans. These two books nail down the essentials of the Christian faith, establish Christ's deity, and reveal God's sovereign plan of election and salvation by faith in Christ alone.

Next, I suggest reading the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) to become thoroughly acquainted with the Jesus we proclaim as Lord. Both His compassion and hard-hitting attitude toward sin are unmistakable throughout the pages of the New Testament. Moving forward, the Acts of the Apostles is a fast-paced lesson in Church history, building the "bridge" between the nuclear group in Jerusalem and the spread of the Gospel over the known world. As we survey the unfolding story in Acts, we observe how the Holy Spirit's coming changed both the course of human history and individual lives. Next, the remaining letters of Paul, Peter, John, Jude and James encourage, convict and exhort the believer on how God wants him to worship, live and relate to other people.

As you read the Old Testament, (the Hebrew Scriptures consisting of the Torah, Law and Prophets), you will learn how to see it through the lens of the New Testament. God's covenants with His people make more sense if you see the coming of Christ as their ultimate fulfillment. Genesis may bring back memories of Sunday school stories heard long ago; the other books of the Pentateuch, traditionally ascribed to Moses, cover 40 years of Israel's desert wanderings. The long history of Israel and Judah's evil kings and cyclical slides into corruption may not seem very edifying, but it is a testimony of God's faithfulness and unending patience with His undeserving people. Reading the prophets, you will see allusions to Jesus Christ on every page. By the time you reach the account of the Archangel Gabriel's visit to old Zachariah at the beginning of Matthew, you will be well familiar with the mind and workings of the Alpha and the Omega.

If it all seems overwhelming to you now, relax! You have a lifetime to get to know your Redeemer. He isn't going anywhere. There are different ways to approach reading the Bible, and you can go at your own pace. The important thing is that you read, not how or how fast you read. If you choose to read only one chapter per day, you will have completed the Bible in about three years. If you read three chapters per day and an additional two on Sunday, you will finish in one year. Using a Bible study to concentrate on a particular book or theme in Scripture is also a great way to learn (the Macarthur Study Library, for example, has many excellent resources available to help you get the most out of your study of the Bible).

Throughout history, the further people have strayed from the supremacy of Scripture, the more removed they have become from the one true God. In our corrupted human nature, we love to create our own god. A safe god; custom-designed to suit our tastes. Let's face it, we all have our own desires and agendas. If we can just get "god"(however we may conceive of him) behind them...well, now that's really a "higher power" we can worship! The Jesus of the Gospels is not the non-confrontational, infinitely tolerant, impotent idol the liberal church has made Him into. Such a "revised" image of Jesus may not threaten willful sinners, and they may stay comfortable in whatever lifestyle they please. A selective reading of Scripture may yield a very different deity; not a true representation of the One True God.

Conversely, Jesus is not the harsh, ascetic taskmaster the Church of the Dark Ages portrayed Him to be. The Christ of the Bible is a gentle Shepherd, not a drill sergeant. Still, He takes sin very seriously. It cost Him greatly. A perfectly holy God cannot wink at sin and still be just. In order to fully grasp God's unfathomable love for you, His infinite mercy, and His hatred of sin (as well as His definition of what "sin" is; not ours), you must go straight to the source. The Bible is the only direct revelation humanity has from the lips of God. As you pursue knowing Him, God will reveal His heart to you (Jeremiah 29:13; James 4:8).

What does this have to do with eating disorders?

Remember how I said at the beginning that nothing would change until you allowed God to renew your mind? As you fill yourself with God's thoughts, you are going to learn to agree with what He says (because He is God and you know His Word is true), and allow His "opinion" to become your own. If you are deep in despair over an addiction you've carried for a long time, regardless of how you got there, it should come as no surprise that something is off base in your thinking.

Will you choose to agree with God, and reject your old thought patterns? He has much more to say on some very personal issues than you may have thought. If you can change your obsessive thoughts about food, weight, beauty, control, or whatever else may vex you, you are well on the way to changing your behavior. Remember, you are not doing this alone - the Holy Spirit is providing the strength you need. All you have to do is submit to Him and choose to obey, no matter what your emotions may be telling you.

Let's start with your obsession with thinness. If you are anorexic or bulimic, this is definitely the overriding passion that drives you. While there is some disagreement among biblical counselors as to whether an unhealthy obsession or "lust of the flesh" can properly be termed an "idol", Ezekiel 14:4 and 14:7 condemn "idols of the heart". Additionally, in Colossians 3:4 Paul plainly states, "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." (emphasis mine).

Biblical counselors Tyler and Grady write: "The gradual descent into idolatry begins somewhat innocently until eventually the idol serves more and more purposes in a person's life. It takes a focal point or center stage and becomes the axis of everyday living. The tendency of our psychologized culture is to talk about the uncontrollable characteristic of "addiction."

People talk about the external thing controlling them. The Bible brings in the crucial element of the heart. The heart controls man. Man is responsible. We desire and pursue the behavior or substance. The tantalizing call to sin is rooted in the heart, and as it is practiced over a period of time becomes a habit. That is the fundamental nature of sin.....the problem is not God or the circumstances; it is the individual himself. Lust, not biology or genetics, is the principal problem."

Clearly, the prohibition on "idols of the heart" has a metaphorical application as well as a literal one, if the biblical paradigm calls all greed "idolatry". Christ did not mince words when He noted, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Mark 6:21). Idols are not necessarily wooden or stone knick-knacks you may enshrine in your home. God will not get bent out of shape over a few Hummels or the odd Precious Moments figurine. In it's broadest possible sense, an idol is anything that has displaced or crowded out God in your heart, and He will not share His glory with another (Isaiah 42:8).

Another way of spotting an idol is anything you want badly enough that you are willing to sin in order to get it. By either definition, thinness is an "idol" in the heart of an anorexic or bulimic. What occupies the preeminent place in our hearts is what we treasure, or "idolize".

In her book about redefining our perceptions of beauty, Regina Franklin writes: "Women strive to shape their lives after that which popular culture tells them is beautiful, and Christian women are no exception. When we are preoccupied with physical attractiveness, we assert that the world's standards of beauty matter more than God's, and we begin to reflect the values of a world that Jesus said we are not a part of even though we remain in it."

Are you willing to agree with God that this obsession with being slender at all costs is idolatry? If we are ever to win the battle against an eating disorder, we need to recognize the dichotomy we place between God's standards and the world's. Next, we need to resolve to re-program our minds with a biblical definition of beauty to replace the world's superficial definition. Now, let's look at how God feels about idolatry in His children's lives. Here is where it will be helpful to have a concordance in the back of your Bible. I counted 231 verses that speak of idols or idolatry, and not one of them casts it in a favorable light! Here are just a few to give you the idea:

"But those who trust in idols, who say to images, 'You are our gods,' will be turned back in utter shame." - Isaiah 42:17

"All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame." - Isaiah 44:9

"Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are borne by beasts of burden. The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary". - Isaiah 46:1

"If you will return, O Israel, return to me," declares the LORD. "If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray," - Jeremiah 4:1

" 'When any Israelite or any alien living in Israel separates himself from me and sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet to inquire of me, I the LORD will answer him myself' ". - Ezekiel 14:7

"While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols". - Acts 17:16

"I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people- not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters." - 1 Corinthinas 5:9-11

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry". - 1 Corinthinas 10:14

"Dear children, keep yourselves from idols". - 1 John 5:21

What can we see about idolatry from the passages above? Holding onto idols in our heart, whatever they may be, will lead to shame. The idol (in this case, being unnaturally thin at any cost) is worthless in God's eyes. Not only does emaciation have no eternal value, it is burdensome. The food-obsessed Christian is wearied by her own self-destructive pursuit of this vain idol. The relentless binge-purge cycle is detestable and has caused you to go astray. This idol you have set up in your heart has separated you from God's fellowship and has become a stumbling block to your growing in holiness. Your idol is distressing to God, as is the idolatry present in the culture at large.

We are to keep ourselves- and even flee - from idols, at all costs. As your Father, God longs to protect you from the devastating consequences of serving anything but Him alone. Placing such a high priority on physical leanness at the expense of your fellowship with Him caused you to lose sight of His priorities, and it grieves Him. Friendship with God is inextricably linked to obedience (John 14:21; 15:7-10). If you will agree with Him that weight has become an idol in your life, you can decide to repent of this way of thinking. Ask yourself the following questions: am I willing to strive to be thin at all costs? Even at the cost of disobeying God? Would I be willing to gain weight if God removes this idol from my heart? Is staying a size three worth forfeiting my intimacy with God? Keeping a journal as you work through these tough choices may be helpful.

Restoring Food to its Appropriate Place

To either an anorexic or bulimic, food has also become an idol. Extreme deprivation of what God provided to sustain life has become an all-consuming obsession. While food has become an object of both fascination (worship) and revulsion, weight is a tool to wield power. Denial of food is the passive-aggressive technique an anorexic will use to call attention to her spiritual or emotional emptiness. While claiming she is not hungry, there is rarely a waking moment that she is not thinking about food.

A bulimic is so preoccupied with food she has trouble concentrating on everyday tasks and responsibilities. She is anxious when in the presence of other people for very long, as she is unable to binge without restraint. Desperate for affection and close relationships, paradoxically she must keep other people at a distance in order to keep up her frenzied habit. As an alcoholic might describe being "in love" with the bottle, a bulimic is "in love" with food, although not for nourishment. The fodder that is being clung to by the bulimic has been exalted to an exceedingly great position of importance. Bulimia is the ultimate "dysfunctional" relationship.

While those who have never experienced eating disorders may only ruminate about food when hungry or as mealtime approaches, for the anorexic or bulimic it is impossible to "turn off" these thoughts. Being addicted to food is an all-day, every day passion. Driving by a doughnut shop or Kentucky Fried Chicken spurs cravings and overpowering, immediate urges to binge. The strength of these compulsions rivals those of a heroin addict about to shoot up. Daydreaming about high-calorie, starchy or fatty recipes becomes a constant cassette that loops in the mind. In a very real sense, the continual, insatiable desire for food at any cost is one of what the Bible lists as lusts of the flesh (Ephesians 2:3; Titus 3:3; 1 Peter 2:11; 1 Peter 4:2). Lust is not just sexual in nature. Overpowering urges and uncontrollable desires for what gratifies the flesh are varied in nature, as the many types of addictions attests. All lust is unhealthy and goes directly against the pursuit of holiness. Romans 13:14 commands us to make no provision for such passions.

The nature of lust is that it leads to an insatiable, ever-increasing desire for more (Ephesians 4:19). Individuals who have given in to viewing pornography will testify to how what started as an "innocent habit" gradually took over their lives and, in many cases, culminated in infidelity and destroyed their marriages. The same is true of bulimia. What initially appeared as a "Plan B" option to avoid the consequences of unwanted pounds inevitably becomes an uncontrollable compulsion to consume and purge vast amounts of food. The binges get larger and more frequent. By the time the bulimic realizes she cannot stop on her own, she is already trapped. This is how the devil operates: by making the object of one's lust appear attractive and benign, then coming around in front of us with condemnation and despair.

Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit; unbridled lust is a trap of Satan. These consuming thoughts attached to food, sex, wine, or other objects clearly reveal a bastardization of their original purpose. Sex is holy and fulfilling when enjoyed as God intended - within the marriage relationship (Hebrews 13:4). Wine and other alcoholic drinks may be enjoyed in moderation (Psalm 104:15; Ecclesiastes 9:7), and all food is given to people to enjoy with thankfulness (Genesis 9:3; Romans 14; 1 Timothy 4:4). However, like everything good God has created and given man to enjoy, Satan tries to pervert food's original, legitimate purpose of nourishing our bodies by turning it into an object of lust. This attitude clearly does not come from God's hand, but from the world: "For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world." (1 John 2:16). Jesus refers to Satan as "the prince of this world" three times in John's gospel.

Renewing your mind with the Word, in the context of repenting of an eating disorder, means first making a conscious, deliberate decision to remove food from the position of "idol" or "lust" it has become. It then means re-learning to eat and view food the way God intended. This renewal in your "inner man" will not happen immediately or automatically, but it takes persistence and a commitment on your part. If you agree that what God says is right and true, you will learn to rebut the lies Satan brings against you with Scripture. In time, you will find that God's words become your own.

Establishing Godly Thought Patterns - The "Y" Chart

A helpful visual aid that my pastor's wife showed me is the "Y" chart. Biblical counselors often use such a diagram to help counselees see precisely where their thoughts diverge from what the Word teaches. As a negative, unscriptural thought enters the mind, there is a point at which we choose either to let it take root, or to reject it and replace it with God's truth on the matter. For example, a bulimic woman may brood over childhood criticisms for being chubby, and anger may surface in her mind. As she ruminates and dwells on the memory, anger at her past tormentor may lead to unforgiving thoughts, self-pity, and shame. Growing increasingly agitated, she automatically begins planning her next binge to "comfort" herself.

If she had paused at the moment the unpleasant memory (and accompanying emotions) had entered her mind, she would have recognized she had a choice: to let her own flesh-based thought patterns spiral out of control; or to ponder what God's thoughts might be on the matter. She might have brought to mind any of the passages that discuss God's unconditional love for her and His definition of beauty; likewise, she might have consciously determined to "cast all [her] anxieties on Him, for He cares for [her]" (1 Peter 5:7). Considering a right response to her critic, she would have undoubtedly recognized God's call for her to forgive anyone against whom she is holding a grudge. She would remember the Holy Spirit's warning against allowing a defiling, bitter root from taking root (Hebrews 12:15).

The "Y" chart simply provides a visual tool to demonstrate the pattern of replacing destructive, sinful thoughts with biblical, Christ-honoring ones. Having Scripture memorized for instant recall makes the process more automatic, although it takes discipline to routinely pause and recognize the point of decision. Will we choose to go our own way, or God's way in our minds? What we meditate upon will ultimately play out in our words and actions (Luke 6:45).