8.14.2012

God Doesn't Care


God doesn't care what you eat.

Jesus purified all foods in Mark 7:14-23. God has no list of food (or restaurants) that bring His frown or condemnation.

But won't this lead to not caring about nutrition? Won't people just eat all the junk they want, then? That presumption CAN accompany the truth that God is not angry with me for having a soda now and then. But presumption isn't part and parcel to it.

Of course, if we use the truth that there is no religiously forbidden food for us, to trash and abuse our bodies with nothing but junk, or too much junk, then we are being bad stewards of our bodies. This is like Romans 6:1-2. Just because there isn't any sin that can keep you from God forever doesn't mean we should go ahead and sin. Just because there is no list of forbidden foods doesn't mean we can binge carelessly on junk. But neither are we required by God to find the most nutritious food and only eat that.

The range of food we can enjoy without guilt is very large. The latest articles we've read on nutrition insist that those foods are out and these are in, but God doesn't care. He is pleased when we give Him thanks, even if our body has to work a little harder to digest and process that particular dish. Ecclesiastes 7:16: "Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself?" AND (other side of the coin), if you're having heart trouble and your doctor says to cut out the fat, etc., you're being a bad steward, tempting God, and endangering your life to eat more bacon. "Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time?"

I write all this having watched the documentary "Supersize Me" lately. It does well to point out the nutritional dangers of fast food. Its weakness is the logical fallacy that this will happen to anyone who eats at McDonald's occasionally. Yes, of course in lab experiments rats died when they were given 50 grams of caffeine... because that's 30% of their body weight!

Let's be sane about what we eat, and give thanks to God for it all (1 Timothy 4:1-3).

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