Health Food, Smealth Food

A few weeks ago, in When Do I Want Jesus, I somehow tied a 230 lb, fast-food addicted man that feels bad about himself into the post. And, because in that post I did not fully explain that line I was asked: "What's wrong with weighing 230lbs?" I'm going to answer that now.

First off, my point in that line was not so much the guy's actual weight but rather that he's dining on fast food. My apologies on throwing a weight in there. So, I'm going to dive into eating unhealthy that a little here. Keep in mind that you're free to disagree with me (no where in the Bible does it say: "Don't eat McDonalds"). However, it does give us guidelines as to how we should eat. If you wish to disagree, I'd encourage you to take the time to think through the topic and develop a biblical argument against me. I don't mean to do health food evangelism here...just talk food.

The Bible tells us the following:

• Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. (Genesis 9:3)
• Your body is the temple of the holy spirit. You are not your own. You were bought with a price, so glorify God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
• Whatever you eat or drink...do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Before you go all Romans 14 on me here, I want to point out that I don't care what you eat. First off, I'm not a rabbit living off of vegetables. And second, you eating a Big Mac isn't causing me to stumble whatsoever. In this post, I'm talking about fast food, frozen food, candy, etc.

My first point might be somewhat of a reach, but it's interesting for me to think about, so maybe it will be for you. Genesis 9:3 tells us that everything that lives (except for humans) is food. My interpretation of that is to (a) yes, eat plants (b) yes, eat chicken/steak/fish (c) no, don't eat dirt because it wasn't alive. This is a fairly good guideline for eating healthy in the first place. You can substitute any of the following in for dirt: high fructose corn syrup, McDonald's chemical burger, most preservatives in frozen food, etc. Try not to bash me for this point...

Second, are two well known (and seemingly over quoted) verses from 1 Corinthians. Simply put, eating food (either because of type or quantity) that makes us either feel sick (has anyone honestly ever felt like doing any sort of physical activity an hour after a trip to Taco Bell?) or leads to health problems (high cholesterol, a "gut", joint problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc) is in violation of that command. I fail to see how Christ can be honored in my body if I'm shoving down half of an extra-cheese, meat-lover's pizza (even if I could eat the cheese). I was just looking back through Voice of the Martyr's August newsletter. On the first page the director, Tom White, mentioned (note that this wasn't the focus of the article) how great he feels every time he goes on a missions trip and eats their food - it's not necessarily "health food", just not soaked in vegetable oil. I believe that's what we should feel if we were to glorify Christ with our diet.

Speaking of food, my dinner is waiting for me...but I'm going to squeeze one last point out here. We can also glorify Christ with our money in how we eat. Buying all fresh produce and home-cooking all of our own meals saves a considerable amount of money over buying frozen TV-diners or especially eating out. There can also be a decent amount of patience and grace to learn by taking the home-cookin route. Just think, you can save money (even your health/life insurance premiums will be cheaper - if you're not overweight), feel better, and glorify Christ all in one very simple lifestyle choice.

In summary, before reaching into the refrigerator (or in the grocery store), we should ask ourselves the following: (1) was it once alive? (2) will eating this glorify God in my body?