Scientists have finally discovered a food item that is perfectly safe to eat. It is gluten free, non-GMO, vegan, organic, grass fed, non-inflammatory, never exceeds temperatures of 250°F, no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, fair trade, additive-free, preservative-free, toxin-free, antibiotic-free, no high fructose corn syrup, unprocessed, free range, and is rich with essential elements vital for life!
It’s called air.
Wait… that can be a carcinogen.
Nevermind…
Eat nothing.
Seriously, though. There has been a lot of attention given recently to food and health concerns surrounding food. And we all have to eat. But the question then becomes, “What should we eat?”
And thanks to both science and pseudoscience, essentially everything kills you. I struggle to think of some food item that isn’t in some way linked to fears about soil contamination, cancer, ethical treatment of animals, bodily reactions, etc.
It’s paralyzing.
And the reason I write this is not to condone a particular lifestyle or diet. My purpose in writing this is rather to share my thoughts as a Christian as I have wrestled through some of these issues. How should a Christian approach food? Here are 5 thoughts to consider.
1. Wanting to be healthy is healthy.
If you are asking these questions and considering changing your lifestyle in order to live a healthier life, then that’s wonderful! We are called to be good stewards of what God has given us (1 Cor 4:2). Moreover, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19), and they should be respected and cared for as such. So if you are looking to lead a healthier lifestyle, then you are not only caring for yourself, but you are also caring for the body that God has given you, which is His dwelling place.
2. There are foods that are Biblically permissible to eat.
The Old Testament offers a bunch of laws detailing what the Israelites could and couldn’t eat. But then, in the New Testament, these laws were fulfilled by Christ and are therefore not binding on us as Christians.
So what can we eat? Well, the lynchpin passage for this is Acts 10:9-16. Essentially, we can eat all types of food, and there are no foods off limits (except of course humans and that which is inherently destructive).
[It is worth noting here that some might point to the preservatives added to meat or plants and claim that the food the Bible allows us to eat is natural while the food we are consuming today is packed with harmful chemicals and is quite unnatural. I think that is a fair point, and we as Christians should be careful about consuming some of these items. We should research for ourselves and eat only that which is safe to consume (although, I will caution that there is a lot of information here, and it is difficult to filter through heaps of pseudoscience and diet propaganda).]
3. Avoiding certain food for ethical reasons is also Biblical
Some avoid food (like meat) not because they are caring for themselves, but because they disagree with the unethical treatment of animals. From a Christian perspective, this can be legitimate.
Were animals intended to be eaten? Yes. There is no Biblical case that can be made against that. Were they intended to be stacked on top of each other in factories, living in their own filth, and subjected to conditions that eclipse the holocaust? Eh, probably not. Humans were entrusted with the responsible care of creation (Gen 1:26, 28), and some of these methods do not seem to be Biblically responsible. So if you avoid certain food because you disagree with the methods employed to bring that food to your plate, that’s fine. But these are your convictions, and you must be careful not to force your own convictions on others.
4. Being physically healthy is not the ultimate goal.
Being conscious and careful of what we eat is a good practice, but if we aren’t careful, it will consume us (nice little pun there for ya). Diet can grow from a healthy habit into an unhealthy obsession. This is when it becomes dangerous not to our physical health, but to our spiritual health. When our diet becomes an obsession, we are prone to forget that we are primarily spiritual beings, and the most pressing problem that needs to be addressed in our lives is the need to be fed with the Word of God.
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” – Romans 14:17
Moreover, much of the obsession over diet in our culture stems from the atheistic hope that is placed in this life, the hope to live forever (or at least as long as possible). Obsession over health and long life are antagonistic to the Christian, who is to hold on to her life loosely (Acts 20:24).
5. We must be healthy not for ourselves, but for God.
Being healthy is great, but aside from honoring God by treating our bodies well, the Christian should realize that health is a means to an end. Our lives are to be given to God as an act of worship (Rom 12:1). We do this best when we keep ourselves healthy. If we maintain our physical health, we will be ready to go where He leads us, and we will be better prepared to deal with physical conditions, so that we can focus on the more pressing, spiritual needs.
Preserving your life, which is given in service to God, is healthy both physically and spiritually. Food must not be seen as an indulgence, but as a necessity. It is a means to an end, and that end is glorifying God.
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” – 1 Cor 10:31
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