I chose the lectionary passages for Epiphany 6 today. They seemed
fitting as the beginning of Lent approaches this week.
It was the New Testament reading that caused me to stop and ponder. I
didn’t like the words I read. Dare I say it, I didn’t agree with the words I
read. The lectionary passage is 1 Corinthians 9. The text talks about running a
race with a determination to win at any cost (24). The phrase used to describe
the method to try and obtain this prize is “I punish my body and enslave it”
(28).
“I punish my body” those words arrested me. What a distasteful phrase!
It is a concept which has had far-reaching effects on contemporary society. It
creates the dichotomy that bodies are bad/spirit is good.
This week the organization Weight
Watchers have been in the news. Apparently, they are offering six-week free
membership to teenagers (thirteen to seventeen). There has been a huge outcry
about the harm that could be done to these young people.
The Washington Post featured an article about it. The author of the
article writes, “As a health professional and mother, I am appalled.”
Later in the article she explains, “Kids will undoubtedly pay a heavy
price for this ‘free’ membership, in the form of body shame. It will not only
affect those who participate, but also every other teen who is exposed to the
message that some bodies are problems”
Other critics have also expressed concern (google it). In fairness, some
have applauded the decision, but most of the articles I read express dismay about
possible harm. Today, the question I am
pondering is, “Is this a form of punishing the body?”
Please don’t read this that I am in anyway against healthy eating to
maintain the weight healthy for that individual. However, these are children, possibily
entering puberty. The underlying message they may receive is exactly the
message of the text today, “I punish my body and enslave it” (28).
Many
people choose to fast from some food item as the Lenten season approaches. This
is part of their Spiritual journey. So, also, please don’t read this as saying the
spiritual practice of fasting is wrong. It is possible to engage in a spiritual
practice while being sensible and kind to one’s body.
Another concern is the easily made leap from punishing one’s own body to
punishing another’s body. Specifically, punishing the bodies of children and
teens (or spouses) to try and enslave them, to bend their will to another’s.
The data show that in the US 67% of adults think it is okay to punish physically
children. Worldwide almost a billion children are regularly subject to physical
punishment by their caregivers. These figures are shocking.
I have often heard it said that it does no harm to punish a child
physically. Evidence does not support that. I have done extensive work looking
at the harm caused by punishing bodies. In this blog, I will content myself
with just one statistic, that of harming or considering harming (or should I
say punishing) one’s own body.
Four percent of adults who had suicidal thoughts had received no
physical punishment as teens. This rises to a massive twenty-four percent when
physical punishment had been administered a couple of times a month.
Here is yet another concern. Half of girls aged 15-19, worldwide, think
that a husband would be justified in beating their wife. The word that gives me
most concern is justified. What gives a human being the right to punish
another’s body?
Often, it is passages in religious writings that give credibility to the
idea that it is okay to punish bodies to get the desired result.
I thought it was a little ironic that both the gospel and Old Testament
readings talked about healing bodies. This text felt a little out of sync.
Healing is preferable to punishing.
Therefore, taking the imagery of the author of Corinthians’ passage, as
the race is run instead of punishing the body in attempt to be first, why not
run the race together supporting and caring for each other (including the
body)?
I like that image much better.
Rebecca Scritchfield, “Weight Watchers is Targeting Teens with a New
Free Program. That’s a Problem”. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/weight-watchers-is-targeting-teens-with-a-new-free-program-thats-a-problem/2018/02/09/ae277826-0d21-11e8-95a5-c396801049ef_story.html?utm_term=.c7ad9de74e31
UNICEF, “Hidden in Plain Sight” A Statistical Analysis of Violence
Against Children.” https://www.unicef.org/publications/index_74865.html
Murray Straus, Beating the Devil
Out of Them. London (Transaction 2009) 73.
(Photo: Beijing, December 2017)
