This book’s title alone is enough to be intriguing. There are a lot of things that are often considered sin in the Christian realm; excessive drinking, doing drugs, sleeping around, just to name a few.  However, the issue of being overweight is often a grey area. Some people consider being overweight, or as the author insists, fat, as a sin. Gluttony is what they call it. Others, look at it as a minor thing that would not fall in the category as sin. Lack of self control, yes. Sin, not so much.

When I had the opportunity to review this book, I wanted to see what the author had to say on the issue. I have to be honest though, as I read this book I had mixed emotions. The author, J. Nicole Morgan, has struggled with weight issues her whole life. She tells much about her struggles throughout the pages of this book. She is referred to as a leader in “Fat Positivity” in her bio on the back cover. I thought I would go through a few of the high and low points I saw in this book, to explain my mixed emotions.

Let’s start with the negatives. My first struggle with this book was with how the negatively the author referred to Christian men who didn’t only focus on inner beauty, mostly because they don’t necessarily look the way of an overweight woman. She almost seemed angry that a Christian man would care about outward appearance. My second struggle may be a little controversial. She tells a story about a long term boyfriend who sweet talked her into sleeping with him. The thing that bothered me is that she called it rape. The way she describes the situation, the physical part of their relationship continued for four years, even adding that that is how she kept him toward the end. I struggle with referring to something as rape in hindsight when she continued to engage in the activity. Dysfunctional, for sure, but to use the word rape is pretty strong. Granted, I was not there, only her and him know exactly the situation, I can only gauge by what she wrote. The third negative was how she referred to Christians in the weightloss world. Specifically those who had written books about it. She referred to a book by Lysa Terkherst, Made to Crave, which is actually a book that is more geared toward craving more of God but is told through the personal stories of Lysa in her struggles with weight. Rather than appreciating that book, she tears it down because the author longs for the day when there are more books on how to live well in the body you are in, rather than change your body. Although, I can agree on one point with that statement, I also believe there is nothing wrong with working each day to be a better you than the day before, including physically.

Now to the positives. I really appreciate how the author wants each person to love the body they are in. There is so much self-hatred in our world, that learning to love your current self a little more is so important. I also applaud how she actually includes many ideas about how she overcame self hatred and started to love herself just as she was.  Some of these included practical things like knowing your exact measurements so that you can order clothes online that will fit you better, understanding that sizing runs differently in different brands (she used an example of being a 3x in one brand and a 6x in another), and learning how to actually accept compliments. Finally, toward the end of the book she mentioned some ideas for the culture as a whole, specifically churches, to do to be more welcoming to people of any size. She talked about how having pews in churches are much more accommodating than stadium seating. She even brought up the spacing of the isles as something to consider.

As you can see, I definitely had mixed emotions when it comes to this book. I cannot paint it as all bad, although I also can’t say I agreed with everything. It did open my eyes to some things as I read it though. I am sad for her and people like her who have struggled not only with weight, but with harsh words from Christians about their weight. Now matter what your personal convictions are about another person, it is never okay to be condemning. Jesus showed us that in how gently he handled the sinners he dealt with. I also realize that as a culture we need to be more focused on the person rather than the body. I would encourage anyone interested in this topic to grab a copy and read it for yourself. If you want a free copy click here to enter in the giveaway.