Loving Jesus and Loving food?

While I had hoped for a lengthy series, outlining the perfect Christian diet, with black and white directions on what is right and wrong, this is not what I’ve come up with. As I mentioned in one of my comments I have been trying to seek wisdom on whether 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…And as I mentioned there, perhaps neither of these options are good.

Throughout many parts of the bible we are shown that perseverance, self control, day to day wisdom and discernment are pleasing to God and necessary for our growth to maturity. When it comes to dealing with good things God has created, in a world that perverts and idolizes, explicit, extremist instruction is a rarity. There is often a grey area, unique circumstances and things to factor in.

We are to have children where able as they are a blessing from God, but we are not to parent badly for the sake of having more children. We are to love, share with, understand and participate in the lives of non-christians but we are not to pretend we are the same as them. We are to steward our money well, but we are not to chase after it as an idol. We are to speak the truth of the gospel openly, regularly and to all who will hear, but we are not to harass or attack.

When it comes to how we do family, friendships, money, evangelism etc. we are required to employ degrees of self control and shrewdness on a day to day level, as we seek out God’s glory above our own. I have come to the conclusion that how we do food is the same. If I am eating for the glory of God and the care of others, sometimes (eg. Lunch at work or home) I will say no to the things I don’t need and just want, choosing much healthier options. Other times (eg. Dinner with friends) I will enjoy treats in a free and thankful, un-enslaved way.

Eating well is important. God has given me a body to do his work. I will not trash his temple. God has also designed my body to store energy as fat and to use food as fuel and that’s good too.

Lord God give us the strength and wisdom to love you more than food and to love your glory more than my own pleasure. Let food, health and self awareness not become idols or captures as we experience your goodness in giving them to us.