So what to do about diet?
The kosher dining enthusiasts would have us abandon unclean meats, or
particular meats that are not prepared, cooked, and stored properly. The vegetarians among us would advocate
abandoning all meat clean or otherwise.
The vegans would take this a step farther and abandon all animal
by-products including dairy, eggs, etc..
There is after all a small tribe in the Andes mountains in South America
that eat only fruits, grains, and nuts (the Eden diet plan) and continue to
live to well over 100 yrs old. Of course
this tribe lives in a remote area and probably does not suffer with as much
pollution, sedentary lifestyles, or 21st century stress either.
The Christians who support eating anything poo-poo the
Kosher ideas of clean and unclean meats as being from Mosaic law, i.e. ‘nailed’
to the cross at Christ’s death. They
also take the vision Peter had about God directing him to eat unclean meats
(meaning go tell the Gentiles about the Gospel) as being literal permission for
Christians to eat anything now. Strictly
following Christ’s example however would take us back to eating only kosher
meats such as fish, lamb, and perhaps beef.
Not being a rich man, Christ would have dined mostly on breads and
vegetables, but the periodic introduction of kosher meat in his diet (near
temple ceremonies) is likely. And as we
have pointed out earlier, God does not seem to change His requirements of us
all that often. The separation of animals
into clean and unclean was reflected as far back as the flood (thus predating
Mosaic law). And the guidelines seem to
be for us to remain healthy, therefore not likely to expire over time. Sorry bacon fans …
Vegetarians and vegans with religious inclinations point out
that animal meat was only introduced into our diets AFTER the fall of man, and
that all such flesh foods (even the clean ones) will no longer be provided in
heaven. And frankly they have a
point. Death is scheduled to end. Therefore animal death will end as well, and
meat will not be a meal served throughout eternity. However I do not believe the verdict is in on
animal by-products such as milk, cheese, butter, ice-cream or eggs. Although I suffer from a dairy allergy here
on earth, I hope to enjoy some of these heavenly produced products without the
ill effects. Who knows?
But what about today?
Unfortunately, this is one of those topics which can only be discussed
in the forum of guidelines not in absolutes.
With the proliferation of food allergies, and pollution in every
substance we consume, it is difficult or nearly impossible to talk in
absolutes. However there are many
principles the Bible espouses which can be considered when formulating the diet
God would be proud of for you.
First, in all things be temperate. This advice applies to more than simply diet,
but the concept of placing limits on yourself, and trying not to ‘indulge’
wildly is a good first step. The mere
act of over-eating is responsible for the massive weight gain we see around us. Add to this a sedentary lifestyle, and
propensity to avoid cooking and get ‘fast’ food and we doom ourselves to an
existence in the ‘fat’ chair. Temperance
in our diet would go a long way in developing temperance in other aspects of
our behavior and would do us a world of good in general. Self-denial after all is a Christian
principle.
Second, balance things out.
Self-denial is not the same as self-torture and self-suicide. There is no need to cut out all good tasting
food for the sake of self-denial. Rather
balance everything you eat between the major food groups, and be temperate
about the amounts and no one food is likely to hurt you. Notwithstanding formal diagnosed food
allergies, a balanced diet is the answer to many questions of health we ask
today. It provides us with the best
chance we have to get ALL the vitamins and minerals we need in a format we can
utilize. Pills seldom accomplish the
same thing. Natural diet is always best
at nurturing our bodies. If you find
yourself eating the same food several times a week, change things up some
more. You need a good variety to keep
healthy.
Third, watch out for harmful things. Black pepper tastes great, but can be harmful
to your body. So can high quantities of
salt and sugar. While trying to be
temperate and balanced you do need to keep an eye out for any substance that
may be slipping into your diet unawares (i.e. pre-salted foods – then adding
more table salt for example). No-one can
satisfy me that genetic manipulation of plants or animals is a good thing, so I
tend to look for organic when possible.
I avoid using pesticides in a home garden where I can. I wash my vegetables when possible before
cooking them. I clean cooking surfaces
so raw meats do not touch other foods during the process of preparation. Cooking meat well done helps. There are so many new germs, and bugs of
various harmful effects, one must take precautions no matter what the actual
food you consume. I prefer the natural
to the chemical substitute like butter to margarine, eggs to egg-beaters, sugar
to saccrine. Seems to me chemical
substitutes are more likely to cause harm than the natural substances they are
designed to replace (especially when consumed only in moderation as outlined
above).
Fad diets that eliminate carbs, fat, or proteins and focus
on a small subset of foods, or no food at all (merely shakes) are probably not
the answer for you. Remember that diet
is a part of life. It does not seem
reasonable that you are going to spend the rest of your life drinking shakes
alone. You may think you only need this
radical approach while dieting to lose weight.
But in fact you are dieting to live all the time. If your natural diet is leading you to gain
weight you need to adjust it, or the trend will continue until it kills
you. Age and bad dietary habits can form
a lethal combination. Inviting God to be
a part of this process is an excellent solution as well.
Those who equate diet with salvation have a self-reliant
sense of works-based gospel (i.e. a false one).
The correlation between dietary habits and salvation works this
way. When God is allowed control in your
life He begins to make changes. Maybe
even in the things you eat. Maybe even
in the things you like to eat. You may
find yourself liking foods you previously would have discarded. This could be God’s work in your life. Helping you acquire a taste for food your
body is in desperate need of. Or the
opposite may apply; you may lose your preference for a food that was in fact
killing you. The beauty of having God
involved in your diet plan is that He is able to customize one just for
you. Like everything else about the
process of salvation, it is not your job to beat up someone else with truth
revealed to you – it is your job to love others and introduce them to the
source of your truth – then let them have the chance to get their own. Besides what is good for your diet might
actually kill somebody else in today’s world, so let’s give up the whole
judging thing.
And for those purists of self denial who believe food is
entirely irrelevant, I have a little news for you. God has chosen to make what we eat the
mechanism of our eternal life in heaven.
In fact heaven will continue to have a tree-of-life from which 12 different
fruits will grow, a new one each month.
We will eat from these fruits and continue living forever. So eating and food are not something
scheduled to pass away. The really good
news is that what we do eat in heaven will be converted completely into energy
our bodies and minds need with zero waste by product. No more 2 hours trips to the little-boys-room
for me J And no more waking up in the middle of the
night for all you ladies out there to … well you know. From then on, what we eat becomes fully
utilized. Wish it was that way now,
don’t you …
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