“Whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God.” 1. Cor. 10:31
Did you know that the Bible mentions eating 462 times? It also mentions the word food 291 times. The Bible has a lot to say about food and eating. I find it interesting that God mentions food and drink to glorify Him. Many of us have really never given much thought about what we eat or how it might be affecting our bodies. God was very specific about food in the Old Testament. He talked specifically about what foods should and shouldn’t be eaten. He talked about how they should be handled and killed etc.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that we need to live under the Old Testament Law of eating. What I am saying is that the God who created our bodies and gave us the food to nourish them probably knows a thing or two about what would be helpful and what would be harmful. I’ll outline some things that align with Biblical principles as far as eating healthy goes.
Eat Foods as Close to Nature as Possible
After several years of studying nutrition, I am more and more amazed by the great creator and the detail that He put into every living organism. Many foods contain enzymes and co-enzymes, vitamins, and minerals that all depend on each other for proper absorption. An example would be iron. Iron needs to be eaten with vitamin C in order for it to be properly absorbed and utilized in our bodies. Spinach contains both a good amount of iron and also vitamin C.
Avoid refined foods
I know that this is difficult to do as we live in a country where the majority of foods are processed and refined in one way or another. Refined grains and sugars are one of our biggest nutrition downfalls in this country. Think of it this way, sugar is more addictive than cocaine (source). Sugar in its natural state has many nutrients and minerals. Through the refining process, we get only a small portion of what we would find in nature. The same is true of something like heroin and poppy seeds. Poppy flowers in and of themselves are innocent and beautiful. But once highly refined; they turn into a highly addictive drug known as heroin or the prescription known as morphine.
Eat to glorify God
Be conscious of your eating. Eat to nourish your body, not just to get a sugar high. It can be so easy to self-medicate with food. If you are struggling with food, I would highly recommend grabbing the book Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst. It is a great eye-opener on how food can easily become something that we depend on more than we do on God. I’ve been there and still struggle with it sometimes. But, I’m working on it.
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- Have you or do you struggle with an addiction to food?
- Have you ever thought about God caring what or how you eat before?