I was not born with a healthy appetite. Don't get me wrong, it's not as though i'm the type to buy a chocolate bar while i'm out and i know that chips and nuggets isn't a meal. It's more that i'm the type of girl who likes to put butter on my potatoes and mix cheese through my pasta you know? My diet choices will probably lead to extra weight, hurting joints and internal health problems. I eat the food i like, when i'm hungry. But what does loving Jesus have to do with this?
From the beginning food is something God has created for his people to eat and enjoy. There are 293 references to "food" in the bible. These include sacrifical offerings to God, provision from God, metaphors and analogies about God, commandments from God about looking after others and a couple of instructions about the consumption of food. It would be safe to say that what and how much I eat has something to do with God and his plan for his people.
The issue is food means something different everyone. We all have bodies and the need to refuel, but what it takes to do that and the affect food has on our bodies (and our mental state) varies. There are some who don’t eat enough, some who can’t afford to exercise their understanding of a healthy balanced diet, some who eat too much, some who have an air of snobbery in their eating choices, some who love fruit and vegetables and some who loathe them. There are some who eat what their parents give them, some who enjoy a long walk/run, some who are too busy to exercise, some who eat specifically for ethical reasons and some who eat very little in order to keep their appearance in check with social standards. Each of these people need to eat (and exercise?) for the glory of Jesus. For each of these people doing this will look different.
I know that I want to make Jesus look good but there are blockages in my thinking – questions and thoughts that I know apply but that I am yet to understand the answer/conclusion to.
I don’t want to be enslaved to eating the easiest, tastiest, least nutritionally helpful food I can because I know that Jesus says we are to follow him, not our own natural desires
I don’t want to be enslaved to a strict healthy eating diet because I worship Jesus, not my health or appearance
I don’t want to negatively affect community – much of community happens around food (this is not only trend but in many ways biblical)
I don’t want to be exclusive – As I said above many people I know respond to food in different ways, I don’t want my own strict (or not strict) habbits to be a stumbling block for them
I don’t want to make an Idol for myself – If we can tell what we worship by what we spend the most time, money and energy on I wonder how consuming (in all three ways) a strict healthy eating diet would be?
I don’t want to be a glutton – (Proverbs 28:7, Proverbs 23:21) The bible puts them in the same category as drunkards, thief’s and idolaters…But what does this even look like?
I don’t want to steward my money badly – How much eating out is ok? Is spending extra money (out or at home) good for the sake of health? Should I be cutting costs and doing things cheaply for the sake of using left over money generously if it means compromising health?
I don’t want to be ridiculous – It seems silly to eat things I don’t like, pretend im excited about ordering salad instead of chips and say no when someone offers me ice cream without justification…just because maybe I should isn’t a good enough reason.
I don’t want to be lazy – It takes more effort to cook healthily and to exercise regularly (or at all). Is saying no to these things lazy?
I don’t want to steward my time badly – While I don’t want to be lazy, there are a thousand other, biblically good, things I could be doing in that time.
I don’t want to mess with Gods temple/creation – our bodies are described as Gods temple where his spirit dwells (if we are believers) and as we see in Genesis, we are his creation. Therefore my body is a possession of Christs. In the same way I don’t want to cover my neighbours well kept lawn in rubbish, I don’t want to fill Gods creation/temple with it either.
BUT
I do want to say no to things that won’t help me bring glory to the name of Jesus
I do want to set a good example, of putting off my old self and putting on my new identity in Christ, for those I love and are yet to love.
I do want to have convictions. I want to know when I need to say sorry to God. I don’t want to hide behind my ignorance.
Hopefully I can deal with some of these questions over the next little while. Your thoughts would be great!
Fabulous post, Tairey. Looking forward to reading along. I'll link to it soon, if thatr's okay? xc.
ReplyDeletedefs okay. should i be saying "defs" on my blog. I should use real words here. hmmm
ReplyDeleteYou should totes ask Rach. She manages to eat really healthy and for like a third of the cost that I use for any given meal.
ReplyDeletemmm i should. not eating meat would severely lower costs for her i would imagine
ReplyDeleteI could probably talk about food until the cows come home, however here are just a few thoughts i had :)
ReplyDelete• I think eating unhealthily can be just as, or even more so, enslaving than a healthy diet. Not only can you feel trapped in a body whose health is not ideal, but often guilt goes along with eating things you feel you ‘shouldn’t’, and thus don’t enjoy it as much, or give thanks for it
• Preparing healthy foods doesn't take me very long at all, its just a matter of finding out things that are time effective
• It can be way cheaper to eat healthily, even with meat-nutrients, not energy, are the issue in Australia. Foods like bread and chips may fill you up in the short term, but provide very little of what you actually need, and so are essentially a waste of money (unless its for enjoyment purposes)
• A lot of eating does occur either alone or with only a few other people, but at outings its fine to have stuff you wouldn't normally. Even at outings, there are choices to be made- do you have the bowl of chips, or opt just for a side serve? This decision doesn’t make you less social- its often not what you eat that makes you social, just that you are eating it with people.
Anyway, hope that adds something to your thought process :)
Oh, as i don't think my name is on here, its rach lol
Thanks Rach :-)
ReplyDeleteLots of it is probably about habits and routines i'd say - in terms of healthy eating being quick and cheap. i guess as someone who doesn't get that initial guilt, "oh, i shouldn't have eaten that, ill have more self control next time", justifying the foundation of those habits and routines is harder and therefore perseverance in maintaining them is difficult also. I guess my lack of motivation on a health level is why i'm seeking direction and motivation on a biblical one.
Hi Taire,
ReplyDeleteMy first time here and what a joy. Congratulations to you and Josh by the way.
My thougths on eating from a really basic mother of 4's perspective.
Some people will feel better for eating a diet that is less processed or has limits on some food groups some people don't notice the difference. I have a mix in my family so we all tend to eat a less processed diet but it is not exclusively unprocessed/low dairy, gluten,egg, nut etc food only.
While I acknowledge I have tendancies to idolising image I find it important in my marriage to look tidy for my husband and it helps to have mild to moderate exercise tolerance for looking after children.
What will suit you in terms of eating and exercise now will likely change as you move through life. Also your energy needs will change. Being flexible about these habits will be essential to keeping it as an activity that glorifies rather than and idol.
There are no easy answers as everyones circumstance will be different but thanks for asking the questions Taire.
Lauren! Welcome!
ReplyDeleteI guess one of the main questions here is "should i have a desire to/make it a priority to eat healthily?" and i think the two reasons you have given (your role as wife and mother) are good ones. Perhaps as i move into the first of those stages i will have good reasons to eat well.
Another thought is that this all links into general self control. I have very little perseverance, with eating well, exercise, learning a new skill...or reading my bible. Gods word tells us time and time again that perseverance and self control are good things to develop. I'm trying to seek wisdom on wether healthy eating is important or not so that i can throw myself into a no carb,low fat diet or feel justified in my nonchalant eating, but perhaps neither is good. Perhaps, like with lots of good things i need to use moderation,perseverance, a good balance etc. all the things i seem to struggle with. While i was hoping for a "christian diet" i think, once again, that i shall simply have to lean on christ for day to day wisdom and the transformation of my heart to make me more diligent and controlled.
Thanks, Taire. Directed here by Cathy. I have been through all the things you talk about - and am still going through them - and I love your list of ideas/guidelines/thoughts, they are biblical and godly, praise God.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went through my own bloggy reflections on this issue, I wrote a series of posts you might be interested in, with a very similar motivation to yours: to find a biblical motivation to eat to the glory of God, rather than a sinful motivation e.g. vanity.
Here's my series in case you're interested: dieting and gluttony.
But you might want to ignore it until you've done your own thinking.
To be honest, I've found no victory at all in this area, just very, very, VERY VERY VERY slow growth, which means mostly I eat in an ungodly way and occasionally get a little more self-controlled. Even after all I wrote, I still struggle for motivation to change in this area.
But I know how much easier I find godliness, and how much more cheerful and less discouraged and anxious I am, when I exercise/eat better/etc. So I know this is a godliness issue for me. But it's one I continue to struggle with big-time.
I also have a friend called Rach (a different one) who is much further along the path to godliness in this area than me. I might direct her to this blog too.
I look forward to your thoughts.
Jean from in all honesty
Hello Jean! Oh it's so exciting having all these visitors...feel as though i should get my best china out or something.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to getting stuck into your series Jean, i shall certainly leave an extra thoughts i come up with.
I am encouraged by your experiences with eating well...
"ut I know how much easier I find godliness, and how much more cheerful and less discouraged and anxious I am, when I exercise/eat better/etc."
This is really helpful, obviously there is no guarantee it is the same for me, but i do remember times in my life when i've really buckled down and eaten well (or strictly, not sure it was well). In these times there were certainly positive affects on other areas of godliness.
Last night i received some jeans i ordered from America (i had gotten a pair while i was over there and that fit so well! so i ordered the same size again, to be sent here). They don't fit. Not wanting to waste money in buying a new pair is feeling like incentive enough to eat well...funny how my brain works
Hi Taire,
ReplyDeleteI was directed here by Jean, so it seems word is getting around! I followed up this link because I've been thinking hard about how to think well about food as a Christian as well - although from a totally different perspective!
I have been doing a little bit of reading and thinking along the same lines as you, though. We have an 8 year old daughter and I've been reading an excellent book called '5 conversations you must have with your daughter' - lots about appearance, healthy thinking about body-image, etc. It's got some great tips about good patterns you can set for family eating times!
But also thinking a lot about where food comes from, and how I can love people in what I choose to buy. I watched the movie, 'Food Inc', and read Barbara Kingsolver's 'Animal, Vegetable, Miracle' - which talk a lot about the injustices of food! It seems that lots of the power in our food systems belongs to the big corporations and we can unknowingly support these without understanding how our dollars the supermarket affect small farmers. We've been trying to work out how much God cares about things like food which is local, organic, Fair Trade, sustainable fishing, etc. It's been quite a journey!!
Hope God blesses you and your fiance as you explore food thinking - it's been a great thing for our family!
Hi Cat:-)
ReplyDeleteIt seems a few people have been thinking this way...i wish i had some more conclusive wisdom to share with you. My thinking has been molded over the last week or so, i shall be doing a post about it soon...what was to be a series shall be shortened me thinks as im not coming to the conclusion i thought i would (usually a good sign of Gods training and teaching). Thanks for your help...i'll be chasing down some of that reading!