Eat to Live
Put your health in perspective.
God created us in His own image. We care for our own bodies as for the very body of Jesus Christ. God gave us part of Himself when He gave us a body. We should not pollute it with junk, but care for it and keep it in the best working order.
Modern methods do not work.
We do not just put anything into our bodies and then take medicine and other synthetic products to counteract the damages. People glut themselves on pastries, fried food, and dairy products until their stomach cannot process the stuff. Next, they chase their meal down with digestive agents to prevent acid reflux or painful indigestion. Soon their doctor tells them they have high blood pressure, a tumor, or some degenerative disease. Now they take more man-made products to offset the injuries from the other garbage they have been consuming. After a few years, they have to take more medicine to rebuff the pills they take already.
Welcome back to square one.
Like everything in life, God must be in the beginning of it. God created us. Then He put us in the right environment for our health. He did not put Adam and Eve on the moon; He did not drop them at the doughnut shop either. If the Lord intended for us to live on cappuccinos, corn syrup, pizza, and microwave meals, He would have provided that from the beginning. Instead, He put humanity in a garden full of fruits and vegetation (Genesis 1:29; 2:16). Later, He instructed us to eat meat (Genesis 9:3-4). We do well to eat herbivore meat (animals that eat only plants) but not carnivore meat (animals that eat other animals). Specifically, God approved moderate amounts of eggs, turkey, venison, chicken, mutton, beef, and fish (Leviticus 11). We should arrange our menus accordingly: fruits, vegetables, grains, and meat.
Rather than grocery shopping for what will fill our families up for the lowest price, we should use God’s grocery list. That does not mean we buy fruit punch, veggie dip, frosted cereal, and bologna. Food began with God and we need to eat it in as close to the original condition as possible. Packaged foods are full of deadly compounds not fit for human consumption. Margarine may have started out natural enough, but it comes to the point of being closer to plastic than food.
Eat fresh, organic foods as much as possible. Raise your own food as much as you can so you know what goes into it.
Redemption trumps forgiveness.
Many people think they eat healthy because they always chase down all their prepared-foods with vitamins. They eat the same processed shmuck as everyone else, but they expect to live forever with their B-complex pills and fish oil supplements. We cannot take enough good stuff to make up for the bad stuff any more than we can volunteer at a nursing home to make up for doing abortions on the weekend.
Good health comes from good eating. Vitamins are essential to any diet, but remember where they came from. God placed vitamins in fresh food. If a person eats correctly, they should not have to take regular supplements. Sure, we need to boost our immune systems with vitamin C, acidophilus, beta glucan, or colostrum, but we should not live on these any more than other man-made products.
Before devoting yourself to a vitamin and herb lifestyle. Start eating fresh foods with plenty of different colors. After a few weeks of this, if you find you still need supplements, then take them as needed, but always look for ways to get proper nutrition from whole foods rather than pills.
A food problem is a sin problem.
The apostle warned us to “abstain from fleshly lusts,” (I Peter 2:11). Both fat and skinny people can struggle with gluttony. Daily coffee, dessert, or snack foods indicate a problem with self-control. Are you living to glorify God by enjoying the food He has created? Or do you live to glorify your appetite and appease your taste buds? Learn the simplicity and discipline of eating a salad with fresh olive oil and minced herbs for a topping instead of the sugary, commercial dressings.
Laziness complicates health.
People who will not do the work of food preparation will do the work of making many doctors visits. Bad eating habits may not be a lack of knowledge but a lack of desire. Modern civilization provides sedentary lifestyles of sitting at computers, reclining before the TV, or texting in bed. God created our bodies to move, not sit. If we do not exercise, all the good food in the world will not make up for the necessity of aerobic activity.
You do not have to weight train. We need to tone our muscles, build endurance, and, above all, move! Motion gets the lymphatic system flowing, purging out impurities and naturally fighting cancer. Movement will also help sluggish digestive systems, not to mention the heart, lungs, and brain.
You cannot have poor health. You have either good health or none at all. God never intended us to be sick any more than He intended us to live in sin. If we follow His menus and get the idea of what He intends for our bodies we will honor Him and have a lot more fun in this life.
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
(I Corinthians 10:31)
2 Comments
This is good, and very eye opening!
LOVE this!!!!