We WANT to honor God
Christians in general want to honor God, their Creator. And by
Christians, I mean followers of Christ. There are many who claim to be
Christian who show no sign of being Christ-like. So, let’s start over…
Followers of Christ want to honor their God.
We prepare a tithe – a monetary offering – to give to our God, usually
placing it in the offering plate of our place of worship.
We daily set aside time to spend with our God, reading his Word and
praying. As we mature spiritually, we learn to understand the need for sharing
intimate time with our God.
We honor our God by being willing to set aside what we’re doing to help
someone in need.
We honor our God with our words, keeping them kind rather than harsh.
We don’t curse. We don’t humiliate. We strive to build up, not tear down.
We know how to extend grace (oft times we need God’s power to do so).
But do we honor God with our food choices? At least in this country,
that seems very difficult – if not impossible – to do.
So many of us struggle with our health: autoimmune diseases, intestinal
disorders, cancers, depression, neurological (ADHD and OCD), emphysema and
other skin disorders. Serious health issues are common place. A stash of
prescription medicines in the home is common place, and expected. Medical tests
are common place and expected, sometimes forced. Damaging flu vaccines are
pushed on us, forced on medical staff, and atrociously proclaimed as safe and
helpful.
Let me add here that I’m not preaching at others, I’m also talking to
myself. I’ve been looking at how I honor God – or not – with food choices.
Yes, there are things I can’t eat. Wheat and most milk products cause
problems, and if I avoid them I can stay away from doctors. Since that’s become
a die-hard goal of mine, I’m willing. But there are other choices I – at home
at least – choose to stay away from. You’ve heard about the damaging effects of
high fructose corn syrup, aspartame (diet pop, etc.), MSG, and by now you may
even have heard reports on the damaging effects of soy (unfermented soy) which
is included on many an ingredient list in your kitchen and is in almost all
dressings and mayonnaises. We limit our sugars and grains, but going completely
carb-free isn’t the wisest choice for health.
I like to look at things logically. God gave us a vast amount of food
choices, and it seems logical to me that he means for us to enjoy them, and use
them wisely.
There are other things we’ve learned lately as a culture. An improper
balance of omega-3 and omega-6 causes inflammation and illness. An improper
balance of alkalizing foods and non-alkalizing foods causes inflammation and
illness.
So logically I want to increase omega-3s and alkalizing foods in my
diet. Or another way to work at it, to eat more anti-inflammatory foods.
If I could convince the people I care about to change just TWO things in
their diets, it would be to:
1) learn what healing fats are and use them properly,
2) somehow get yourself unaddicted to the diet
drinks!!!! (And sweet drinks in general.)
(Ask God; he has the power to get you there, especially if you’re
genuinely wanting to honor him with your food choices.)
So, honoring God. How do we honor God with our food choices?
Way too often we go at food with a devil-may-care attitude.
“This may kill me, but it tastes so good, so – I don’t
care!”
Is that honoring God? Are we honoring God when our poor health keeps us
bound in some form or another – sometimes literally – so that we are limited in
how much of ourselves we can offer him? When we’re constantly scheduling
medical appointments, we limit our calendars for being free to serve him.
I want to try to write a prayer…
So here goes…
Oh Father, you are God Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth. You have made us in your image and you desire to
spend time with us, you long for our worship. There are so many ways to worship
you, Lord. Honoring you with our choices is a form of worship. Enable us and
empower us to honor you – to worship you – with our food choices. There are so
many false messages about what is good for us. Open the eyes of your people to
see the truth, to care about how we treat our bodies and our minds. I love you,
Lord, and I worship you with my words; I lift my hands to you in song and
praise, worshiping you. Help me, empower me, to worship you with my food
choices.
Worship
I will often focus on attributes of God
as a form of prayerful meditation.
Here are a few:
Here are a few:
Omniscient ● Omnipotent ● Omnipresent ● Holy
● Sovereign
● Merciful ● Righteous ● Forgiving Love ●
My Authority
~ ~ ~
For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we
achieve this victory through our faith.
–1 John 5:4
~ ~ ~
For further study:
This fat can be life-changing for
those who struggle with health, IF you can get past your culturally cultivated
fear of saturated fat:
I personally use the expeller-pressed
coconut oil – in cooking, and also as a nightly supplement for digestive
health.
