Don’t let your christian walk be like wearing Spanx

As a christian woman I find it easy to show up at church on Sunday morning in my best dressed self. I smile kindly at everyone, ask how they are doing and offer any service I see fit. Then on the way home I get annoyed at the driver in front of me. I grumble at my child’s attitude. I complain about my needs or wants…. Once home I find it too easy to slip out of my Christ like attitude and into my ugly, non desirable, frumpy attitude.

Why does a woman squeeze all her fat into spanx? Well, because she’s going to look great in that slim fitted dress. She’s going to appear to the world that she is fit and fabulous. She’s hidden all her bumps, rolls, and flaws. The dress she would never have been caught dead in, is now a possibility because of the “false Advertisement” she is presenting.

As Christians we find ourselves wearing Spanx. We hide the ugly truth of our struggle with sin, with a cleverly designed facade. What would happen if we showed up without the Spanx on!!! People would see the roll of pride hang over our pants. They would notice the cellulite of deceit exposed through the loose fabric. Hidden beneath a thin surface would be the proof of the “labor pains” that life has brought on us. A Spanx free Christian life would look pretty unattractive and a bit obscene!

I believe that that is God’s desire for us though. To remove the Spanx and let it all hang loose. 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 was originally written as follows…. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in removing the Spanx.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly for my rolls, cellulite, and stretch marks, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am hanging loose, then I am strong.

Ok, so maybe that isn’t the original version but it’s still God inspired. We need to quit covering up all our flaws and expose our real selves to one another. We need to admit when our truths are a bit ugly and don’t make us look thinner. We need to be comfortable asking for prayer when our struggle consumes us. The false advertisement that Spanx offers is only rewarding for a short time but the inevitable undressing is just around the corner. We get home and real life struggles present themselves and the Spanx get removed and out comes pouring all the fat that you were desperately trying to hide. The fat that you knew was always there but you kept hidden.

If we could just be brave enough to not put the Spanx on and leave the house without the security of false fitness, then maybe we will be able to notice everyone is just as unbecoming.

James 5:16

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Galatians 6:2, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

When we keep our Spanx on and never reveal the jelly belly that lay within, we keep others insecure about their obvious shortcomings. They sit there admiring us for our flat stomachs, our smooth skin, our lack of love handles, shaming us way beyond our paint line. Only the truth is we suffer from the same afflictions.

If I were given the great honor of writing a Proverb for the Bible it would say,

A bulging waistline gives life to the flesh, but a Spanx swallowed reality causes others to undeservingly become envious. It’s much like Proverbs 14: 30, “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.” We shouldn’t be envious. I get that but by always keeping our flaws hidden we make it very hard on others to not be. We can easily cause others to stumble with envy, just by never revealing the truth of our weaknesses. So that’s why I’ve concluded that my Proverb should be added in!

Don’t let your Christian walk, be like wearing Spanx. Keep it real and let it all hang out! As for real Spanx and not the figurative ones I’ve been talking about, you should probably continue to wear those, they really do help.