Eating Real Food

The worldly teachers believe that our primary concern is putting the right foods into your bodies.  You've heard the saying, "You are what you eat."  It's true. What we put into our bodies has a great deal to do with whether we will experience good health or not.

I agree with many of the things that  nutritional experts like the late Jack LaLanne have taught.  Jack often taught, "If man made it, don't eat it." And "if it tastes good, spit it out!" 

No doubt there are foods that damage and foods that heal, which I'll discuss further in another post.  I believe we should study and learn which foods are healthy, and seek to eat those, rather than the ones that are unhealthy. For example, in our household, we seek to eat whole foods.  We eat real food, not man-made, processed stuff that comes in a box. 

The fallacy of living on bread alone
Yet this is only a partial truth.  Jesus taught that natural food is not enough to sustain us.  When He fasted for forty days without any food, Satan tempted Him to turn a stone into bread.  And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.'"  (Luk 4:4). 

Contrary to what we think, it’s not just the natural food that sustains us.  It’s the Word of God.  As Paul wrote to Timothy, “We should be nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine.”  We should feed on the meat of God’s Word and do what Jesus commanded. You can eat all the right foods, but if your diet not include lots of Scripture, then you are malnourished.

Strengthened by grace, not by foods
“Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.” (Heb 13:9)

So many today are in the fast lane on the information superhighway, searching for answers to their health problems.  They want to take charge of their own health and find the cures.  They want to know what foods they should or should not eat, so that they can be healed of their sickness.  But most of this teaching leaves God completely out.  And it’s easy even for Christians to get carried away by it.

We have some health problems in our family. I have done the research and it is so draining.  It’s like going in circles, because the conclusions of one author about what you should and shouldn’t eat contradict those of another author.  One says you should eat a certain food in order to be healthy and the other one says you should not eat it.  I myself have almost gotten carried away by the various and strange teachings about proper nutrition.

In a way, it’s similar to my initial search for spiritual truth.  I was looking in all the wrong places, including Buddhism. But then I found Jesus and the Truth set me free.  It was liberating and broke the bondage in my life.

Now with this search for health answers on what foods to eat, it’s much the same.  The search becomes wearying.  Then the Lord reminded me that Jesus is the Truth, and we should go back to the Bible for our answers on health.

It’s not that the information available in books and on the internet is completely untrue.  Much of it is helpful, but it’s also full of half-truths.  Many of the health advocates point out that the medical professionals isolate illnesses or diseases, rather than treating the whole person.  They point out that we must treat the whole person, if we are to help make people well.  I agree.  But our whole being includes our spirit and soul.  The body is simply our tent. 

Putting it All Together

Therefore, we should be placing a very high emphasis on our spirit and emotional well-being, not simply focusing on the body, as though that represents the entire human being.  This spiritual health emphasis begins with a relationship with Jesus and obedience to his commands.  It’s not about yoga and New Age meditation.  These will only carry us further away from Christ.  Our strength must come from his grace, not from foods.  Our eyes must be fixed on Him.  Our meditation must be on His Word.  And our lives must be lived in accordance with it.

Does your diet include reading the Bible daily and asking God to speak to you through it?  Do you do what it says?  This has far greater importance than what we eat.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's note: This post is part of a series.  If you enjoyed it, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. You may also access my blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.