Ask Pastor Mike Fabarez

Speaker 1

Should Christians have plastic surgery? Welcome to Focal Point. Today we'll hear Mike Febares answer a listener's question about undergoing cosmetic reconstruction on this edition of Ask Pastor Mike.

Well, celebrities maintain the illusion of eternal youth thanks to diet, exercise and maybe a nip and tug here and there. Plastic surgery used to be performed mainly on accident victims or on those with life-threatening health conditions. Thanks to medical advances, things like a cleft palate and physical disfigurement are dealt with by the skill of a surgeon.

But is it right to go under the knife for purely cosmetic reasons? Let's join Pastor Mike and executive director Jay Worton in the pastor's study now as they kick off this controversial topic.

Speaker 2

Well, thank you, Dave. I am here with Pastor Mike and Pastor Mike. It seems like more and more our culture is putting a high importance on external beauty. And we have a question from a listener. Is it wrong for a Christian to get plastic surgery?

Speaker 3

That's a loaded question.

Speaker 4

Now isn't it very controversial these days?

Speaker 1

No, not at all.

Speaker 3

Come on.

Speaker 1

Yeah, it is.

Speaker 4

And you know, I guess before people kind of viscerally respond to that question and say, well, of course not, I've got to be very careful about how we answer the question. When I get up in the morning, look in the mirror, my hair's all messed up. I put a comb through it. So there are things that are natural about my body that may need to be adjusted and fixed, and then you can go from there. I mean, that's very simple and it's not costly; it's not dangerous to run a comb through my hair.

But you've got to start thinking. We do a lot of things that I think most of us would say it's a reasonable response to how I look if I can improve it to improve it. I think the real issues are remembering that my body and how I look is something that ultimately needs to be seen through the lens that I am someone owned by God, I am bought with a price. I glorify God with my body.

So beauty and looking fit or whatever, not a bad thing in and of itself. But I've got to be able to weigh that against who I am in Christ, that I am someone that is not to live for my own vain promotion. And my goal is not to be the most beautiful person on the earth. I'm here to live for Christ. I'm here to glorify Christ.

And I think it might be a case reasonably made that I would glorify Christ better today at the office if I comb my hair versus not combing my hair. So, yes, there's a time for us to improve how we look. The question is, what's driving that? What's motivating that? And how far should we go in weighing, you know, what becomes vain or too risky or dangerous to try and change our appearance? And then what are we trying to accomplish, you know, what's the standard I'm trying to reach?

Speaker 2

Well, then, with that being said, is it always wrong to go under the knife or have surgery just for the sake of looking better?

Speaker 4

Well, no, because there are situations where you might say, "Car accident, my nose is on the side of my cheek. I better straighten that out." It's going to take some surgery; that might be a reasonable thing to do.

But I think sometimes when we're so obsessed with how we look, we start saying, "Well, my nose is just a..."

Speaker 3

Little too crooked or it's too big.

Speaker 4

Or it's too wide, so I need to go now and have rhinoplasty and fix my nose. Just because it's not up to the Hollywood standard. You know, we've got to think about what are we saying here.

I mean, there's times that a gal may have a mastectomy and she may go in for plastic surgery to restore something that has been, in this case, surgically removed. You can make a case that's a reasonable response to a problem that can be remedied with some kind of surgery that's elective, and it's there to restore something that is wrong, an injury, a burn, whatever it might be. There are times where you could say, that makes sense. And then other times you could say, hey, if a Christian chooses not to do that, that's fine.

So, you know, this is a moving scale. It's not a simple answer. I do think you can see people that go and seek plastic surgery because they just can't cope with the fact that they're growing old, that they got wrinkles, that their hair is turning colors or whatever.

But even that, you know, what do you do with a gal who says, hey, my hair is gray. I want to color my hair. Well, again, that's not a high risk going under the knife kind of thing. But I don't think you can make the case, hey, you're trying to look better. That's a bad thing. You need to say, well, why am I trying to look better? What am I trying to accomplish here?

So I think we need to really police our motives with this question.

Speaker 2

You talked about going under the knife for, like, a mastectomy, or, you Know, getting reconstructive surgery and some from an illness or something. What about birth defects? You know, God made me this way. Should I be trying to fix those things?

Speaker 3

Yeah.

Speaker 4

Well, then the people do this routinely. My daughter is a good example of having a severe birth defect. And part of the reconstruction, obviously, was for the sake of her being able to wear leg braces.

But, yeah, things need to be fixed sometimes because they're extremely deformed. Someone with a cleft palate will go under the knife and have surgery to repair how their face looks. These are things that aren't just categorically wrong.

No one should make that case because I don't think the case can be made. It's a motive that has to be examined. In the midst of this question, you talked about motives.

Speaker 2

What should our motives be in this regard? How do we look at this when we look at our bodies and say, hey, I don't like this, or I don't like that?

Speaker 4

Well, I think when it's becoming something that really is a stumbling block, not just for myself, not living up to some standard that I'm holding up in my mind, but it's become a stumbling block in dealing with people I deal with every day. I mean, that, I think makes sense. And I think we've got to weigh what I'm doing to fix here in my body, how it's going to impact other people. I want to have that kind of servant's attitude. In part, that's a good way to put it, I think, and not just see this as a vain thing.

And I guess that's where the topic eventually comes back to if I've got a healthy biblical contentment. I realize, you know, I'm content I can get up in the morning. I'm content that I'm growing older. I'm content that I'm losing my hair. I'm content with that. But I'm going to run a comb through my hair and I'm going to brush my teeth. And if you got coffee stains on your teeth, yeah, I'm going to try to fix those. Those are the kinds of things you can do and still carry a nice, healthy, godly contentment.

So you got to look for that and recognize that it's not just I'm sitting there grieving over the fact that I'm not, you know, some magazine physique or some cover beauty of some modeled, you know, perfected, airbrushed image in my. We've got to be careful. So starting with contentment, a very important place to start I think.

Speaker 2

Well, thank you, Pastor Mike. I trust this has been a helpful conversation. We're going to continue this with a message you gave called contentment instead of materialism.

Speaker 3

We have, don't we, a lot to be thankful for. And while I think most of us would readily admit that, yeah, I got a lot to be thankful for, we unfortunately aren't left after doing all that Thanksgiving with the kind of heart attitude that you might think would be left behind after all this giving of thanks. It's the elusive Christian virtue called contentment. We say, God, thank you for everything you've given me. Now I got a few more things I just got to have.

If you have your Bibles, I want you to open up to Hebrews chapter 13 as well. The world's busy assaulting us and telling us we need new cell phones, different clothes. Perhaps this could be the most important kind of virtue to focus on. I mean, it's a good thing for us to make the ambition of our hearts as Christians and before, by the way we look at this passage and you think, well, this is some religious platitude that just can't be fully practiced in our day, not in the real world, because you can't live this way in our world.

Just recognize that all these commands are given for people. And God assumes we're going to be living in the real world. He recognizes that your cell phone is going to die and you'll need a new one. He knows that your mode of transportation at some point will wear out and you're going to have to go get another one. He's all about the real world. God is not checked out to the realities of the world that we live in. It's not much different from the world that the first-century church lived in. They needed stuff to live, and we need stuff to live.

So just know that the principle in the Christian virtue of contentment, it doesn't necessarily lead to a life in a monastery or a vow of poverty. As a matter of fact, that's a bit of an abuse of this principle. You can fully practice and apply this principle and live in the real world because the issue of contentment or its antithetical problem of sin that we often call materialism really doesn't have anything to do with the amount of your paycheck. And it's really not necessarily tied to the size of your home.

And you may not believe it, but it's not necessarily connected to the kind of car you drive, because materialism or contentedness in our hearts, it's really a matter of our hearts. It's what goes on inside. You're either content in your heart, which may or may not be reflected by an amount of money that you have, or you're involved in something in your heart that the Old Testament called coveting and the New Testament likes to call the love of money. And that's going on. And it's all something here. You can make minimum wage and have the problem or not have the problem. You can make a lot of money and either be contented or you could be covetous.

Scripture says this as it relates to our hearts. Hebrews 13:5 says, "Keep yourselves free from the love of money." And we've got a great play on words going here in this text we talked about in verses one through three. We talked about loving our brothers, talk about even loving outsiders. Phileo connected with these other words. And here we have another use of phileo as a compound. And don't love literally. The word is silver, which for them was what their coins were made out of. But recognize it's not about loving a gold bullion bar or hugging hordes of cash. It's an issue with a heart.

Something in my heart. And he says, the inverted virtue. That's the sin. Here's the virtue. Verse number five. And be content with what you have. Nah, that even sounds good. There's something good and peaceful and serene about contentment. The concept, the word. And now here's some of the solution here. Here's some of the keys to doing it. Because God has said, here's something that overrides all of this attraction to the material stuff that becomes an addiction. He says, "I'm going to never leave you." This is a quote of Deuteronomy 31, and "I'll never forsake you." I repeated an oft-repeated principle in scripture. Jesus echoed these words and lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age.

I'm going to be with you. I will spiritually walk with you through this life. So we can say with confidence. And now he quotes Psalm 118 and we can repeat the psalmist lyrics and say, "The Lord is my helper. I won't be afraid. What can man do to me?" Rhetorical question. Nothing. I'm going to be okay. That is a kind of lifestyle characterized by peace as it relates to material things. It's called contentment. The sin is the love of money. Covetousness. Materialism, we often call it. We got to avoid it.

Number one on your outline, we're gonna. Before I fill this in, let's look at Jesus's parallel passage.

Speaker 2

Sorry.

Speaker 3

Psych. Turn with me to Matthew 6, okay? Because before I give you this word, I want to show you where we're getting it. Matthew, chapter six. Jesus, in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, is talking about materialism, as we often call it. But he doesn't use the word coveting. He doesn't use the word greed. He doesn't use the word materialism. He uses a different word, which is the indicative feeling that goes with the problem. It is what your heart will feel like if you have the problem of loving money.

Look at verse 25, Matthew 6. 25. Therefore, Jesus says, I tell you, do not. What's the word? Worry about your life. Circle that word. That's what materialism, the love of money, feels like. It inevitably leads to a concern, a worry about the things of this life. Now, for that agrarian society, he goes right to the issues that are basic for sustenance in their life. He says, don't worry about what you're going to eat. Bottom of verse 25. Don't worry about what you're going to drink. Don't worry about your body and what you're going to wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes?

Now, for us, in our day, I mean, the 21st century, you could replace some of those things that we worry about that are related to material things, right? We worry about our housing, we worry about our retirement plans. We worry about our investments. Oh, I know you have to interface with them, but when you're worrying about them, it shows an undue interest in them, and that reveals a problem. And that is, in scripture, what we call materialism. It's the love of money. This is the indicative feeling we have, you and I, to define what we're fighting here.

Speaker 4

Let's put it this way.

Speaker 3

We need to fight the anxiety of materialism, because that's what it feels like. You're always worrying about stuff. Are my investments going to make it? Are we going to make it next month? Are we going to be able to retire when we want? Is this going to work out? Is this investment going to be profitable? It's an undue concern for those things. That takes my mind, and here's the word that is translated worry. It's often translated anxiety. I've been giving you this word study many times, but it comes from the root word *meridomai*. And *meridomai* is the Greek word to divide. And your mind is divided. And God doesn't want us to live that way.

He gives an illustration, don't misunderstand it, in verse 26. But the illustration is about brainless birds. Bird brains. Birds that fly around in the sky. And they have no investments. They have no retirement plans. They don't even have a refrigerator. And Jesus says this: Look at the birds of the air. They're not there. They're not very bright, he says. They don't sow, they don't reap, they don't store away in barns. Now, here's the principle: Yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. They get it. At the end of the day, their bellies are full. God takes care of them. And he says, here's a rhetorical question: You are much more valuable than they are. I mean, aren't you? Come on, think about this. God cares more about you than the sparrows hopping around at McDonald's waiting to get a dropped french fry. He cares more about you, and yet he makes sure they get their fill.

Yeah, worry is stupid. I mean, that's basically what the Bible is teaching. It doesn't do anything. And most of our problem as it relates to the love of material things is that it causes our hearts to be worried. We worry about getting all these things buttoned up. And the Bible says it just doesn't make any sense.

Verse 28: Why worry about clothes? He gives another illustration. Look at the lilies of the field. They're growing. They don't labor, they don't spend. They don't worry about what they're going to wear. And yet Solomon, in all of his splendor, wasn't even coming close to being dressed like one of these. And he was trying real hard. If God knows how to clothe the grass of the field, which is here today, gone tomorrow, thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you?

Now, here's the real root problem. Underscore this phrase: Oh, you of little faith. That's the problem. You don't trust me, God is saying.

Speaker 4

Through his son. You don't trust me.

Speaker 3

You don't have faith. You don't have confidence in God, who, what's the context, cares about you. And you're worried about stuff. Why are you worried about stuff? Don't you know God cares for you? Isn't that the flavor and feel we just read in Hebrews 13? God's never going to leave you, never forsake you.

Why? Why are you so concerned about all this? The concern of Scripture for us, sorry, pardon the pun, there is that we are people that don't have this concern. The issue and the objective for your life is that we're free from that burden of concern.

How do we fix it? If we're supposed to fight the anxiety of materialism, how do we fix it? First Corinthians, chapter 7, verse 31. And this is a statement, again, a restatement of the fact we're going to live in the real world. You're going to have to buy a present.

Speaker 4

You're going to have to buy a.

Speaker 3

New phone, you have to buy a new car. You're going to have to deal with the things of this world.

But Paul makes this distinction in First Corinthians 7. He says, if you buy stuff, it's as though it's not yours to keep. If you use the things of this world, he says, as though not engrossed in them. Which is a good English word for that.

Speaker 4

That word.

Speaker 3

It's an interesting word. But don't be engrossed in them. That's the principle. Now, here's what I want to say. Because the better stuff is better than the not so good stuff. How's that for a sentence? I mean, I'd rather have the iPhone than that cruddy little Ericsson flip phone, right? That would be better. So that's. That's good stuff.

And here's the problem. The better the stuff is, the more attractive it is to us, right? I'd rather drive that midnight blue Porsche Carrera than my Tahoe, my used Tahoe. I would rather do that. There's more appeal to that. It's a more attractive car. It's a sexy car, right?

So here's a principle. If you want to guard your heart against the anxiety of materialism, you have to admit that the material things of this world are attractive in increasing measure. And you have to. Here's the protection. You have to create a dispassionate buffer around your heart to guard you against the attraction of material things. It's a layer of self-protection. That dispassionate layer of self-protection. That's a little wordy.

Speaker 4

This one's simpler.

Speaker 3

Okay. Second way I can fight the anxiety is the principle from Philippians, chapter four, verse number six. Remember that? Okay, here's how I put it. Replace anxiety with prayer. Is that simple? Replace anxiety with prayer.

Speaker 4

It's really easy.

Speaker 3

I mean, simple, not easy. It's hard, I admit it. But when you feel the anxiety, what if. What's going to happen? Are we going to have enough? What about this? And we really need that when our kids are. When they're grown. We need a bigger house.

When you feel the anxiety, replace it with prayer. Because the Bible says not just about the general issues of life, but about financial issues as well. Be anxious for. What does Philippians 4:6 say? Only the big things that was said. Be anxious for nothing. That's pretty all-inclusive. But in everything with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving. That's an interesting line. Let your request be made known to God.

So take the energy of anxiety because we're all going to be tempted to feel it and transition that into a purpose to pray. I'm going to pray. Are you concerned about your retirement fund? Are you concerned that you put all your marbles in your house and now your house isn't worth what it was worth?

Here's the deal, okay? Take the anxiety that that may produce and turn that into prayer. God, here's my request. I don't want to be living under a freeway underpass when we retire. So God, please don't let that happen. Take your concern and turn it into prayer. That's very practical.

Okay? So dispassionate. Layer toward the lure of the material things. When I feel the anxiety coming on, I'm going to turn it into a prayer request and make that prayer request clear to God, which often has a purifying effect on your motives.

Speaker 4

Right?

Speaker 3

Because sometimes we realize, what am I worried about? Sometimes it's stuff that we really shouldn't even be wanting. That's another sermon. If I want to be free from that kind of engrossment in material things, that love of money, as the Bible calls it, that covetousness of the Old Testament, that materialism that we often talk about, then you need to do two things. Be content with what you have. And you need to affirm this statement: I know that God will never leave me and never forsake me because you have some stuff and you have someone that should change everything about the fears of what if.

And I don't know if we'll have enough. Part of the solution to materialism is a focus, a biblical focus, and it's called contentment on what I have. And that's important because materialism is all about getting you to think about what you don't have. Isn't that what the commercials are all about? Hey, you don't have one of these, but you need one. And they want to get your focus on the stuff you don't have. God is trying to get your focus back on the stuff that you do have. And that is the incessant battle that takes place in our heart.

First Timothy 6. Look at verse number 17. I quoted it earlier. Command those who are rich in this present world. And before you roll your eyes, you go, well, that ain't me. Okay, remember the context. First century church in Ephesus. Now, they're not all poor and begging, but you know, you probably got a lot more than they do. We got plenty of stuff if we got more stuff than we need. That's what rich means.

See, those who are rich in this present world stop being rich and at least not enjoy it if you are. Is that what it says? Doesn't say anything about that. It's uncertain. Don't trust in that. Put your hope in God. Have we not dealt with that? That's the first thing. It's an attitude of my heart. Then it says this: God, who I'm trusting in, richly provides us with everything for our... And I'll circle the last word: enjoyment.

Speaker 4

Enjoyment.

Speaker 3

God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. That's taking contentment to another level. Let's enjoy what we have. Let's celebrate what we have.

Because the focus of the world says, look at what you don't have. And all I'm saying is, great. You don't have the best stuff. I understand it. I don't either. But I got some stuff.

And that's the first thing in trying to solve the problem of having to have more. Recognize what you have. I have an old used Tahoe, okay? I would certainly enjoy driving home a brand new Porsche. That would be better, right?

But what I do have should not be tarnished by what I don't have.

Speaker 1

Right?

Speaker 3

What I want to do is I want to sit in my Tahoe because here's the great thing. It's not like my first car, when I had to do this to get the window down, right? What's really cool about my used Tahoe is I got a button and down comes the window. It makes a little noise, but it comes down. And that's worth celebrating. And I enjoy that.

You don't have the iPhone, but you got that old Ericsson phone and it still works. So call somebody and enjoy your phone. Okay? See, you don't got the latest and greatest.

Speaker 2

That's okay.

Speaker 3

And if you do have the iPhone, enjoy it. And we won't feel the attraction to it. We'll try to maintain ourselves. The point is, you don't have the best stuff. I get it. You look at a guy down the street, he's got better stuff than you.

Materialism is the focus on what you don't have as opposed to the focus on what you do have and the temptation as soon as you look at what we have. Well, it would be a whole lot better if I just had a new stereo in the old time. Just, you know what I'm saying?

Try and focus on the things you have. Stop seeing the things you have as just an advertisement for something else that you don't have. Focus on what you do have and enjoy that because it's been given to you for your enjoyment.

God can guard our hearts from discontent, the anxiety of materialism, if we would focus on the right things. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and God will take care of the rest.

Speaker 1

You're listening to Focal Point with Pastor Mike Fabarez and a portion of a message called "Contentment instead of Materialism." Now to hear the full, unedited version, go to focalpointradio.org. Pastor Mike's brought clarity today on healthy Biblical contentment and whether we feel inferior physically, materially, or in any other arena of life. He said, what we do have should never be tarnished by what we don't have. A helpful rule of thumb that we can put into practice when we focus on the riches we absolutely do have in Christ.

If life's weighing you down, this month's featured book can lead you through armored with peace and patience if you allow it. "Change My Heart O God: A Devotional Journal of 52 Resolves" is a guided journal designed by Pastor Mike himself to coach you into more godly, life-affirming outcomes. And when you give a generous donation today, we'll express our thanks by sending you a copy of this excellent discipleship tool and future keepsake. Ask for the book "Change My Heart O God" by calling 888-320-5885 or go to focalpointradio.org. Your generosity is what makes these daily visits from Pastor Mike possible.

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I'm Dave Drouy, wishing you a restful and restorative weekend ahead. Join Pastor Mike Fabarez next week to continue our study in the Psalms. That's Monday on Focal Point. Today's program was produced and sponsored by Focal Point Ministries. Sam.