Thoughts on "The Biggest Loser: Marriage Edition" Beginning this Weekend at Five Oaks

I'm a newcomer to the show. When I heard that someone I knew in college (O'Neal Hampton) was going to be a contestant on this season's show it grabbed my interest. And the show kept my interest. It's inspiring, informative, motivating and a tearjerker every week. Okay, I admit it, I like tearjerkers. 

So it's not surprising that it has worked its way into a message series, but this isn't the case of the tail wagging the dog. I've been really impacted lately by the writings of Paul Tripp and I received an advanced copy of his upcoming book on marriage (I owe them a review on this site). I was planning on sharing out of that learning, had developed over twenty pages of notes and was searching for a metaphor for the series. I thought I had it already when "The Biggest Loser" idea hit me while flying across the country. Kind of like those Windows 7 commercials, if you know what I mean. (And, yes, I'm better looking when I think back to the moment of insight.)

This series is unlike any other I've preached on marriage. It's also turning out to be a lot harder to prepare than I had expected. It's a bit hard hitting because it seeks to get down to the heart level and calls us to look deeply at the ways we are self-centered and selfish in our marriages. But it's hard hitting in a freeing sort of way. It's not condemning. It's about grace. It's about losing our agenda and bringing Christ's agenda to the center of our marriages and other relationships. This is hard work. But like a good workout, you feel really good you did it and you get to reap the benefits. But also, like a good workout, you have to get up and do it again the next day.

Is there anyone you can invite to the series? It could be a game-changer for their marriage.