Is plastic surgery a sin?

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Micko97

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I suffer from gynecomastia which is enlargement of male breast tissue. That is not dangerous but it is hurting my self-esteem real bad, picking clothes that fit is difficult, and its awkward when I am on the beach or at the pool, so I am seriously considering a plastic surgery. Now this might seeam as a silly question but I am worried if plastic is surgery a sin? Is there something immoral about it, something that contradicts Christianity and what does the Bible say, if it says anything l about that matter?
 
Like many medical procedures, plastic surgery is not intrinsically evil. Something like this is going to depend on the individual situation.

We cannot give medical advice here, you really should talk to your doctor. Cosmetic procedures can’t cure the underlying cause so it may create additional problems. There is nothing immoral about seeking treatment for this medical condition.
 
No, it’s not a sin when you are having a surgery to correct a deformity, which gynecomastia would be considered. Even if the plastic surgery were purely cosmetic, the act itself is not intrinsically evil, so it wouldn’t be a mortal sin.

It’s just my opinion that one may have some ‘explaining to do’ for having an $8,000 facelift while so many of God’s other children suffered for lack of food. Maybe someone knows if there’s any official Church teaching on frivolous spending in general whether it’s for elective surgery or just that third Maserati…
 
Sandraaustin said:
No, it’s not a sin when you are having a surgery to correct a deformity, which gynecomastia would be considered. Even if the plastic surgery were purely cosmetic, the act itself is not intrinsically evil, so it wouldn’t be a mortal sin.

It’s just my opinion that one may have some ‘explaining to do’ for having an $8,000 facelift while so many of God’s other children suffered for lack of food. Maybe someone knows if there’s any official Church teaching on frivolous spending in general whether it’s for elective surgery or just that third Maserati…
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To be fair,some people who save to have plastic surgery sometimes don’t even own a car let alone a third Maserati.
In my view,I see it as very different when an “average person in the street” has plastic surgery as opposed to when “celebrities” do.

Celebrities often do it from frivolous spending of excess money,from vanity,or from trying to achieve perfection to their already near perfect faces.

“Average people” often do it for “repairative” reasons and to better self esteem.
Ie:someone might get a facelift to put their face back in normal position because illness/stress/gravity/oxidative stress etc caused their facial skin to become loose and sag excessively or lost tissue volume.
They want to look healthy again.
Or someone might have Gynecomastia like mentioned,again a deviation from “normal state” just like sagging is.
Or breast sagging/flattening due to breast feeding etc.
Or loose skin(bingo arms) on upper arms due to large weightloss.

If a person accepts a woman having breast reconstruction for purely “looks purposes” without judgment then I don’t think they should judge people having facelifts etc because in both cases theyre just trying to bring back what was taken by unhealthy body states-whether they be cancer,oxidative stress,excessive female hormones in a male,huge weight fluctuations etc…
 
Micko97 said:
I suffer from gynecomastia which is enlargement of male breast tissue. That is not dangerous but it is hurting my self-esteem real bad, picking clothes that fit is difficult, and its awkward when I am on the beach or at the pool, so I am seriously considering a plastic surgery. Now this might seeam as a silly question but I am worried if plastic is surgery a sin? Is there something immoral about it, something that contradicts Christianity and what does the Bible say, if it says anything l about that matter?
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Our appearance, like it or not, is the first impression we give to people, right or wrong.

I had a friend who had something with his nose when he was a kid. For years, he was even teased about it, “hose nose”. As an adult, he finally decided to do something about it. He said immediately after that, his life changed for the better, that he got a whole new circle of friends. Seems they had rejected him, before, due to his appearance.

I took some social work classes, and one of the most surprising things I learned was how “disabling” certain conditions are. They weren´t always the ones I anticipated. Some of the conditions surprised me. For instance, skin conditions or ones that affected the face affected how the person related, how he/she, IF he/she, would even be accepted by others.

Some people, especially those with low self esteem, as a result of certain aspects of their body, are sometimes helped greatly by surgery.

If you have some medical condition, especially, please don´t feel badly about considering corrective surgery. There´s nothing “sinful” about that.

That´d be great if you could get clothes, off the rack, that fit your better. Mainly, it´d be wonderful if you´d feel better about your appearance, as well.

I´ve seen firsthand how even small changes for the better in our appearance first affect how we feel about ourselves. This can often help increase our self esteem. Secondly, it does affect how others see us, and relate to us, or it can.

Even a change in clothes can have a major impact on whether, and if, people will receive us.

So, although you don´t need anybody´s okay, if you want to do this, go for it! 👍
 
Sandraaustin said:
No, it’s not a sin when you are having a surgery to correct a deformity, which gynecomastia would be considered. Even if the plastic surgery were purely cosmetic, the act itself is not intrinsically evil, so it wouldn’t be a mortal sin.

It’s just my opinion that one may have some ‘explaining to do’ for having an $8,000 facelift while so many of God’s other children suffered for lack of food. Maybe someone knows if there’s any official Church teaching on frivolous spending in general whether it’s for elective surgery or just that third Maserati…
Click to expand...
if everything God creates is so perfect, why is anyone even born with such deformities? I have wondered about this a few times, human deformities, especially ones that are more than cosmetic in nature, why would God allow such a thing in the first place?

I tend to think these kinds of deformities seem to suggest creating a human life is more like a ‘production line event’ versus something that is supposed to be unique and very special ( the creation of a living breathing human being that is).
 
Elena321 said:
To be fair,some people who save to have plastic surgery sometimes don’t even own a car let alone a third Maserati.
In my view,I see it as very different when an “average person in the street” has plastic surgery as opposed to when “celebrities” do.

Celebrities often do it from frivolous spending of excess money,from vanity,or from trying to achieve perfection to their already near perfect faces.

“Average people” often do it for “repairative” reasons and to better self esteem.
Ie:someone might get a facelift to put their face back in normal position because illness/stress/gravity/oxidative stress etc caused their facial skin to become loose and sag excessively or lost tissue volume.
They want to look healthy again.
Or someone might have Gynecomastia like mentioned,again a deviation from “normal state” just like sagging is.
Or breast sagging/flattening due to breast feeding etc.
Or loose skin(bingo arms) on upper arms due to large weightloss.

If a person accepts a woman having breast reconstruction for purely “looks purposes” without judgment then I don’t think they should judge people having facelifts etc because in both cases theyre just trying to bring back what was taken by unhealthy body states-whether they be cancer,oxidative stress,excessive female hormones in a male,huge weight fluctuations etc…
Click to expand...
Oh yes, I completely agree! When I said 3rd Maserati, I should have said $50,000 facelift, as I was trying to refer to the Hollywood-types who start Botox at age 20 and devote their entire lives to nothing more than perfecting their looks.

Still not saying it’s necessarily sinful, just that we all have to “give an account”.
 
mikekle said:
if everything God creates is so perfect, why is anyone even born with such deformities? I have wondered about this a few times, human deformities, especially ones that are more than cosmetic in nature, why would God allow such a thing in the first place?

I tend to think these kinds of deformities seem to suggest creating a human life is more like a ‘production line event’ versus something that is supposed to be unique and very special ( the creation of a living breathing human being that is).
Click to expand...
The Fall happened and then all sorts of things started going wrong.
 
Joie_de_Vivre said:
The Fall happened and then all sorts of things started going wrong.
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Well, we (humans) did fall, but creating a human being has nothing to do us or our original sin, that ‘duty’ is something God takes care of, so if he is allowing such deformities to happen in people, that is something HE DID.
 
mikekle said:
Well, we (humans) did fall, but creating a human being has nothing to do us or our original sin, that ‘duty’ is something God takes care of, so if he is allowing such deformities to happen in people, that is something HE DID.
Click to expand...
Biology was also affected by the Fall.

One must distinguish between God’s active will and his passive will.
 
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