This is Pastor Tim’s article which appeared in the Evening Leader on Tuesday, Sept 27, 2022
An article from GQ popped up in my Google newsfeed and two things about this upset me. First, an article from GQ caught my interest. This is the same magazine that put AOC on the cover and had a large article where she complained about how oppressed she was. She did this with her picture on the cover of GENTLEMEN’S QUARTERLY, a news publication that is maybe one-step above the National Enquirer. Perhaps that is what she meant by oppressed.
The second thing that bothered me was the purpose of the article itself. Apparently, there is a surgery that will make you taller. I stand at 5’8” tall; I am one inch shorter than the national average height for men in the United States. But now, I can go spend my entire annual salary for the next 6 years and get a surgery that will increase my height up to three inches.
Before I set up a GoFundMe or start publicizing my Venmo account to accept donations to the “Get Pastor Tim to Average Height” fund, I decided that I probably should find out more about this surgery. After doing some research, I found what the surgery does is it breaks your femur (the large bone in your thigh) in both legs and inserts a titanium rod to extend the distance between your knee and your hip by whatever amount of height you want to gain, up to three inches. Could you imagine your knee being three inches further from your hip?
There are obvious physical problems with this idea. First of all, the amount of pressure it would put in your knee and hip would be incredible. Take ahold of a 5-pound weight in your hand and lift your arm until your arm is parallel with the ground. Not too hard. Now take that same weight, put a three-inch extension on it so that the weight is three inches further out beyond your hand and you will struggle to lift it. That is what you are doing to your knees and hip joint with this surgery. It will also throw off the balance of the entire body because now the center of gravity for your body will be three inches higher than it used to be.
I am not against having surgery. Obviously, I have had many surgeries myself. My problem with this specific surgery is the obvious danger and life altering consequences it proposes. I can’t imagine how anyone could get results that make them happy. It would make your legs look like they bend in the wrong place.
What I believe this surgery represents is a problem that has been growing over the past 20 years. That problem is how we worship the body. We see symptoms of this all the time. What is referred to as gender affirmation surgery (it should be called gender negating surgery) is a good example. The quest for youth and products to make us all appear younger. Even tattoos and piercings are an example of this. It is a desire to change the appearance of the body to conform to something other than what it is meant to be. Many of these changes are harmless, but some of them are catastrophic. It is all about conforming our body to a standard that most of us probably cannot clearly define.
I am probably thinking too deeply into this, but this cosmetic surgery is a step too far. I know the feeling; I have often wished I was a little taller. But I never considered having both of my legs broken to accomplish that feat. Take care of your body. Eat well and sleep enough. Go for a walk and get your regular medical checkups. Take care of your body for the gift that it is. Your body isn’t perfect and neither is anyone else’s.
And I can’t believe I have to say this, but apparently, I do: If you ever want help with a problem you are having and the solution someone offers is breaking both of your legs, ask someone else to help you.