The Matter of Food

God's timing makes me smile!

 

Organic vs. non-organic.

Healthy vs. fast-food (mostly unhealthy).

Cleanse vs. restricted food regimen.

Liquid diet vs. only raw fruits & veggies diet.

 

Where do you stand on all these issues?  I do believe we should be more health conscious when it comes to what we allow to pass into our bodies.  I think the problem starts, however, when we begin to obsess over food.  Like anything else, it gets out of balance and consumes our every waking moment.

 

I've been looking through my mom's recipe collections in an effort to put together a "memory recipe book" for family and friends.  My mom was obsessed with nutrition, diet, weight gain/loss and the dilemma on cooking food that us kids would eat.  I've inherited some of that obsession from my mom.  And, moreso lately as I ponder my 46th year of life and the lack of energy, loss of muscle mass and overall unhealthy "feeling" I have nowadays.

 

My "plan" was to get into better health shape in 2009.  AND...in late December I knew we were going to Guatemala in July and "planned" to walk every morning/night and eat healthier so I'd have more energy, more stamina, lose some unwanted unhealthy fat and regain some wanted muscle tone.  Then life happened.  Moves, sickness, death, visiting family, work deadlines, packing/unpacking, trips, storage units to fill, etc., all competed for my time, energy and attention. Today is June 8...and I have yet to stick to any regimen, diet or exercise plan.

 

I think our Christian lives can be like that too.  We get busy.  We get ritualistic (legalistic). We go through the "motions" of Christianity and let our busy-ness tune out the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  Our focus, once again, shifts to all things external and we neglect the heart.

 

I'm not saying being healthy isn't important.  But, when being healthy becomes the most important thing you focus on in your life, at the exclusion of all other things...you get out of balance.  If we obsessed more on our healthy heart relationship with God and less on the outside stuff, we'd regain that balance.

 

I think that is what Jesus is trying to point out in the passages below.

 

Oh Lord! Help me to obsess about You and not about me.

PlanetWisdom.com Devotionals

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Food is Not the Problem Posted: 05 Jun 2009 09:35 AM PDT "Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, 'Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him "unclean" by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him "unclean." ' " (Mark 7:14-15) If you're the kind of person who is careful about what you eat, you might wince at Jesus' words here. Some of us are so concerned with healthy and unhealthy food that we might really feel "unclean" after eating a drive-thru burger or an entire sleeve of Girl Scout cookies in one sitting. But to those who heard this in person, Jesus' words were revolutionary. For them, it wasn't about being fat or feeling gross, it was about being acceptable to God, about becoming spiritually unclean in their community. They had grown up with the idea that eating the wrong foods could change your spiritual status as a person. Jesus demanded a radical shift in His followers' thinking: God cares more about what lives in your heart than what passes through your digestive track. And what lives in our hearts is revealed by our sinful words, actions, thoughts, and attitudes. Sin comes from in there, not from the outside when we forget to wash our hands before having lunch. Think: Our culture puts a huge emphasis on what we eat and don't eat. Do you ever feel guilty about your food choices? Do you think you sometimes care more about healthy eating than whether your heart and mind is right with God? Pray: Thank God that you will not be declared unclean for eating certain foods. Ask Him to help you care more about honoring Him with your heart, mind, and actions than you do about what you eat. Do: Read Colossians 2:20-22. Visit PlanetWisdom.com for more great resources!