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A woman I was with recently believes that as long as we ask God to bless our food, He will bless it. We shouldn't worry about what we eat but just make sure we pray over it. I challenged her on this belief and asked her if someone chooses to eat french fries, pizza, and coke at every meal and asks God to bless it, will the food not affect him negatively? She didn't know how to respond to this.
God gave us common sense. He created food for us to eat. We should all know that the food God created for us to eat is the best food to nourish our bodies. How can man possibly make something better for us than God? He can't. God created us and knows what is best for us.
If you believe you can eat anything you want and it won't affect your health, you are testing God and He doesn't like this. Up until 100 years ago, no one had the choice between God's food and junk food. Everyone ate from their own gardens and farms or other's gardens and farms. There was no toxic fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, or steroids. The air and the water weren't contaminated. Once sanitation became implemented, many of the diseases cleared up. Now, we are experiencing the diseases of a rich nation {cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc.} who caters to taste buds instead of healthy bodies.
It is well known that food created the way God created it is healthier for us. Even the Cancer Society recommends numerous portions of fruits and vegetables a day. There are many articles being published today about the value of eating food in its natural state.
I believe the bottom line is discipline. We are a nation of undisciplined people who would rather eat what we want, when we want, instead of showing self-control and eating what we know is good for us. Eating healthy is a lot of work. You must shop more, chop more, and cook more. You must read labels {although I think it is best not to buy food in a can or box} and know what is in your food. It is a lot easier and convenient to just buy pre-made everything and zap it in the microwave or go out to dinner and let others prepare your food with who-knows-what. I love what Michael Pearl wrote in his latest magazine, "When scientists perform genetic modification on our seeds, they are assuming they are wiser than God"{Revelation 11:18}.
God gave us wisdom. He gave us food. He even gave us common sense. We need to use these in all of our decisions in how we live our lives. No, it shouldn't become an idol as many accuse those of us who care about what goes into our bodies, although most of them idolize their junk food! Eat as healthy as you can and then leave the rest up to the Lord. We do live in a very toxic world so we have little control . The only thing we really can control at all is what goes in our mouth.
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink,
or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
I Corinthians 10:31
Food Babe is someone I would recommend you reading!
Logging you in...
Stephanie · 552 weeks ago
sheila payne · 552 weeks ago
Pup · 552 weeks ago
Lori,
I really like this post! I completely agree with your logic about people using common sense to make decisions about what is healthy for their body.
The bible can be read with a variety of interpretations, and sometimes it seems to me people don't use their common sense to choose how to interpret it or what actions to take while still wanting to be consistent with the bible's direction.
I always prefer the common sense, logical interpretation as I do not believe that God would want us to follow illogical rules that conflict with what our (god-given) intellect tells us is proper.
I'm so glad to see you say this too!
And of course this logical, use-your-intellect, use-your-common-sense approach applies to other aspects of life besides food. Having successful relationships, for example.
Blessings,
Pup
Gently Led · 552 weeks ago
This sounds to me so obvious, but I see Christians ignore this principle regularly, whether in their own lives or how they perceive events in the lives of others. I think our culture has become one of victimhood/enablement in many ways, and it saddens me to see it infecting Christians, too. Your blog goes a long way to counter that! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
karen · 552 weeks ago
Mike · 552 weeks ago
And we should not say "God bless this house" either because God did not create houses. He created the ground for us to sleep on and trees to sleep under. When we take his trees and make them into houses, we are saying we are better than God, and his ground is not good enough for us to sleep on.
P.S. Most of the fruits and vegetables you eat, even the ones that are not genetically modified, are greatly altered compared to how they were created. Altered by man. Man saw that this apple was sweet and this apple was juicy, and he cross-bred them to make a sweet juicy apple. Same for nearly every fruit and vegetable out there.
karen · 552 weeks ago
karen · 552 weeks ago
Lindsay Harold · 552 weeks ago
Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean we have to obsess over every little thing either. Our bodies can handle a certain amount of less-than-ideal food. One should eat healthy, but if organic is not something you can afford, at least eat a balanced diet and avoid processed foods when possible.
I'd also like to point out that foods not being what God created is not just about GMOs. We live in a fallen world where the perfection God created has been corrupted. You could take a plant that has never been cultivated by man and never been genetically modified and it still wouldn't be as healthy and wonderful as God originally created it simply due to the effects of genetic degradation over time. Even the most organic food out there isn't "what God created." It's a degraded version of what God created.
With that in mind, not all of man's activities in modifying food sources is bad. In some cases, man has the ability to help increase the nutrient content of foods through genetic manpulation or cross-breeding to perhaps restore some of what God originally created there (or what God created some other food to have) and help people get more of the nutrients they need. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Putting pesticides in food is not healthy, but not all GMOs are bad or unhealthy. And breeding or genetic manipulation that allows more food to be grown in less space or with less water can actually help feed people that would otherwise starve. God gave us the ability to modify His creation for our benefit. He made man with creative abilities and skills to use for good. Obviously, there are good and bad ways to modify our world. We need wisdom to discern how best to use technologies like genetic modification. But it's not as simple as saying that all man-made things are bad and all natural things are good.
karen · 552 weeks ago
Ksdee · 552 weeks ago
Desiree · 552 weeks ago
Your body will pull all the nutrients it needs out of the food you eat...whether a big salad or a twinkie.....no kidding...that is what it said! Though one positive thing I saw from it was portion control. The ladies really did learn a lot about that and that may be where the biggest help with weight loss came from. Many years ago a friend said something to me as I bemoaned my health. God is not going to heal you from eating donuts so you can go back and eat more donuts.
As usual...loved this post!
Sue B. · 552 weeks ago
We cannot be gluttons and expect Him to bless our sin, nor should we expect to earn His blessing by eating healthily. But we are told to ask our Father each day for our daily bread, and therefore we should always be mindful to be thankful and good stewards of what He has provided for us.
I disagree that we use to live in a less polluted world. Homes and businesses use to heat with coal or wood that produced huge amounts of black, sooty, smoke and there were no regulations on what came out of factory smokestacks. People burned their garbage in the backyard barrels or in incinerators. All paint contained lead, water pipes were soldered with lead, and foods were canned in lead soldered tin cans. Cars and trucks ran on leaded gas that spewed leaded exhaust into the air. Asbestos was used throughout homes and schools, including carpets, curtains, blankets and children’s pajamas. Cities dumped raw sewage into rivers. The world is actually much less polluted today.
Jacqueline · 551 weeks ago
Blessings!
Lukas · 450 weeks ago
Greetings from Indonesia, and Jesus Bless!
Love Healthy Dinner · 377 weeks ago