To lapband or not to lapband, the mystical question?

[Dune 2]

Hi everyone, i have deep religious love for every true conception of God, and am a practicing Christian of sorts, i follow Jesus' teachings, but have a firm commitment towards the study and apprehension of all religious mysticism.

The reason i am sharing this to start with is so that you can understand where i am coming from and going to with my dilemma.

As i am sure many of you were and are, i am so tired of struggling with my weight. I just want to get on with my life, move further, get beyond the emotionally, mentally and spiritually circular yo yo of fat and thin.

However, the mystical perspective of this would be that the weight issue is just an effect of the underlying cause. Most mystics (Christian and all others too) would exclaim that the underlying cause is that we are unable to detach from our desires, we are not poor enough in spirit and pure enough in heart. And, if we were to detach from all of our desires and dedicate our lives upon focusing upon the light of Christ within, then we could become close to God and be delivered from all worldly sorrow (which in this context, would include our concern about our health, weight and the way we look).

So, the mystical answer is to pray constantly and focus on God, haha, easier said than done aye! The most dedicated of mystics went through great pains and sorrows through their dedicated Quest to become close to God, so i dont want you to think i am being self righteous, i myself have a lot of deep angst and issues in my own Quest to become close to God and have a very long way to go yet.

With what i said about coming close to God in mind, i am wondering if, if i were to get a LAP-BAND®®, would this be vain, desirous and self serving?

I am aware that if i were to go ahead with it, using rational arguments you could say that by doing it, i would be embarking on a journey, that would essentially treat an effect (the weight and all the other problems that go with it) that would create space to focus on the cause, move on from the weight issue to become a better person and Glorify God in all that comes from this.

However, is this just a ruse to satisfy my vanity? Am i kidding myself?

I cant help wondering if my difficulties with my weight are a challenge that i have been given as an opportunity to practice my faith. Are all difficulties not opportunities given to us to practice our faith?

How would i be practicing my faith if i got the LAP-BAND®® surgery?

Then there is the cost. I live in the UK, and my weight currently is not heavy enough for me to be eligible for help. If i wanted to do this i would need to get a loan. One could argue "hey why not, its what everyone does" and, i would be able to afford the payments. However, together with my concerns about whether or not it would be right spiritually, i worry that the funding would also be out of sync spiritually. We are taught by the bible that we must be blameless by (amongst other things) keeping our finances in order.

So, what are your thoughts about my dilemma? Can you share with me some of the moral and spiritual dilemmas you have faced with the LAP-BAND®® surgery and whether or not you have resolved them, and if you did, what was the process?

Some of you might tell me that i should get some spiritual council from someone in my church congregation, however, as i am sure you will understand, most people outside of our desperate problems do not understand and in defense of this would argue for us not to do it without consideration.

I should, do and shall continue to pray for guidance, but i also hope that there maybe some people here that might offer me some advise and support.

Many thanks,

Love Dune.

Edited November 10, 2010 by Dune
Changed title and added highlights so people dont have to traul through the whole thing if they dont want to.

[Mariasha 3]

First of all God wants us to take care of our bodies and our health. You need to do whatever you can to get healthy again and the statistics are clear that the only way to lose the weight and maintain it is through surgery.

I look at obesity as an illness, no different than I would look at diabetes. Should a diabetic not get the insulin they need but rather just pray to god to heal them? Of course not! Same with obesity. You are simply getting the help you need to fight this illness.

Final point. The band is not some kind of instant fix that you will not have to work at all. It is a tool that if you work with it, will assist you on your weight loss. I see no reason why the band should be a contradiction to the other things you want to do as well such as praying and trying to deal with the underlying issues. They can go hand in hand together.

Feel free to send me a PM if you would like to discuss this further.

[123crod 170]

I do not feel I have done something wrong by getting the band. I have a personal relationship with God and I know that being overweight was my problem created by me and my eating habits. But I also know God created medicine to help us heal even though I believe He could and can do it in a minute if He chose to. I also suffer from Clinical Depression and have spent much time in prayer and almost begging God to remove this from me. He has chosen not to so far. So I have done everything I could to stop the depression, making sure I have forgiven people and not carring around unforgiven sin in my life. I stay as close as I can trying to stay in His will. I have been through 3 years of Christian counseling (not dealing with weight issue but my life and thought patterns).

Last year I told my husband I could not deal with both the weight and the depression it was too much for me, I had done and am doing all I know to do to get rid of the depression and still have it, but the weight I could lose but could not keep it off, so that is why I got the band. I believe God wants me to be happy and healthy and that is what I am striving to do.

I am not being unfaithful to God I am just doing what will help me. The Bible says our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and we should take care of it. So I am.

Cheri

[Dune 2]

First of all God wants us to take care of our bodies and our health. You need to do whatever you can to get healthy again and the statistics are clear that the only way to lose the weight and maintain it is through surgery.

I look at obesity as an illness, no different than I would look at diabetes. Should a diabetic not get the insulin they need but rather just pray to god to heal them? Of course not! Same with obesity. You are simply getting the help you need to fight this illness.

Final point. The band is not some kind of instant fix that you will not have to work at all. It is a tool that if you work with it, will assist you on your weight loss. I see no reason why the band should be a contradiction to the other things you want to do as well such as praying and trying to deal with the underlying issues. They can go hand in hand together.

Feel free to send me a PM if you would like to discuss this further.

Wow, Mariasha thankyou for this encouraging post. What you have said here has really reassured me, you are quite right!

Many thanks,

Dune

[Dune 2]

I do not feel I have done something wrong by getting the band. I have a personal relationship with God and I know that being overweight was my problem created by me and my eating habits. But I also know God created medicine to help us heal even though I believe He could and can do it in a minute if He chose to. I also suffer from Clinical Depression and have spent much time in prayer and almost begging God to remove this from me. He has chosen not to so far. So I have done everything I could to stop the depression, making sure I have forgiven people and not carring around unforgiven sin in my life. I stay as close as I can trying to stay in His will. I have been through 3 years of Christian counseling (not dealing with weight issue but my life and thought patterns).

Last year I told my husband I could not deal with both the weight and the depression it was too much for me, I had done and am doing all I know to do to get rid of the depression and still have it, but the weight I could lose but could not keep it off, so that is why I got the band. I believe God wants me to be happy and healthy and that is what I am striving to do.

I am not being unfaithful to God I am just doing what will help me. The Bible says our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and we should take care of it. So I am.

Cheri

Thankyou so much for sharing this Cheri, i feel less alone hearing a little about your difficulties, though different from my own, its nice to know that i am not the only one.

What you are saying is right, if i got the LAP-BAND®, i would be taking care of my body, and as Mariasha said there is no reason why it should contradict my efforts to please God.

Infact, this reminds me of an advert i saw on a church billboard i walked past once. It had a picture of a wrinkled puppy on it and it said "offer your worries to God". I have never forgotten it since, it made me think of brother Lawrance, a French monk i think, who constantly dedicated everything he did, even the washing up as an offering to God. I might have to reread his book as a reminder; and, I can offer my desire to be banded to God and dedicate the whole procedure if i were to go through with it to Him.

I would have never of thought of this if it werent for you, thanks!

...mysterious ways aye :rolleyes2:

Dune.

[AngryBaby 2]

Just so you know where I come from. I believe in God however I also believe that there is not one single religion that can completely justify that they are the one true religion that is right in all ways. (Just a little something to get off my chest) That being said I live in the bible belt (Texas in the United States).

We have a little saying. You can pray to God all you want to about winning the lottery, but he can't help you win if you never try to buy a lottery ticket. In other words it won't help to just pray about losing weight and being healthier. You have to put forward the effort and try to do something about it. If you've exhausted all of your other options and have been unsuccessful in losing weight. Why would trying bariatric surgery be wrong? It is still an option.

Just a thought...

[elcee 3,341]

Now I am not a believer but i like what angrybaby said - basically God helps those that help themselves. I think that particularly in this instance she is right.

[Dune 2]

Just so you know where I come from. I believe in God however I also believe that there is not one single religion that can completely justify that they are the one true religion that is right in all ways. (Just a little something to get off my chest) That being said I live in the bible belt (Texas in the United States).

We have a little saying. You can pray to God all you want to about winning the lottery, but he can't help you win if you never try to buy a lottery ticket. In other words it won't help to just pray about losing weight and being healthier. You have to put forward the effort and try to do something about it. If you've exhausted all of your other options and have been unsuccessful in losing weight. Why would trying bariatric surgery be wrong? It is still an option.

Just a thought...

Now I am not a believer but i like what angrybaby said - basically God helps those that help themselves. I think that particularly in this instance she is right.

Yes yes, i see where you are coming from.

Hmm, but it is not that i am thinking that i should pray to lose weight as oppose to getting a LAP-BAND®®®. Perhaps even the opposite, worship is about the way you live, not just about prayer.

I am concerned that my desire to lose weight stems from my humanly ignorance and it is the humanly ignorance i should be seeking to treat rather than the weight. Once you eliminate ignorance, then all else follows.

In an extreme sense, i know in my heart that this is true, but i know that i am not in a place on my spiritual journey to truely act upon this, which is what concerns me.

With this being so, would i be going further into ignorance by treating the effect rather than focusing upon the cause? (ignorance and desirous distraction - food cravings, wanting to look nice - from what is Holy and Good whatever you conceive this to be God or no God).

But as Cheri and Mariasha support, treating an effect might help to strengthen me to be able to focus better on the other things i want to achieve. But then as i said in my original post, while this is a very genuine point in itself, is it genuine in my situation? Am i kidding myself?

I just dont know, its something i need to think about, and any posts people write will help me with this and are much appreciated, as are yours, many thanks,

Dune.

[AngryBaby 2]

Of course it is vital to also focus on the cause. By denying the cause, it will cause a never ending cycle of mental/physical issues. I have come across many people on this site who have been banded yet they still have the same issues that caused them to become obese in the first place. Some of the people have gone to a therapists, did a bit of inner reflection, or whatever. If you never address these issues, they will continue to plague you. It is basically up to you if you want to address them before/if you have surgery or later down the road. Try to take a critical and unbiased look at who you are and what you would want to get out of this. If you feel that you need to do more work on your inner being before you work on your outer, then you should do so. Unfortunately we cannot give you an answer on what will be best for you. It is up to you to decide.