I find an interesting trend these days in regards to physical health. It is a very passionate thing for people today and to me it is looking more and more like idolatry. I see it more while I am sick. I have gotten dozens of messages with advice on my health journey. I really do appreciate those and the concern but the thing that is so frustrating is that no one seems to take the time to see the spiritual well being in this journey.
God allows real physical suffering so that we will be refined. It is not a bad thing. It can be used to make us less and Him more. It is a way for us to decrease and Him to increase. It is for His glory. We would be better if people would listen. We all have stories. God is in our suffering. He is good. He is a loving Father who knows our best. Instead of judging or offering fixes we need to focus on suffering long with others. We need to get comfortable with entering into peoples sufferings and walking with them side by side. That is love.
People are so quick to jump to a solution or a permanent fix and they soon discount you if you are unwilling to try their preferred fix. People are so passionate for you to buy into what they are doing on their health journey. Again, I am so happy people have found things to work for them but we are all very different and on different journeys so not everything applies to everyone regarding physical health. Because our bodies are so greatly complex there are often mysteries.
The Bible says, “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:23-24,31). We must do what we do by faith and conviction while not causing others to stumble. We must make the gospel first in all things we do, with that said, we must also respect the things that God gives others the faith to do. I may be free to do what I want but my friend may be living under a conviction of only eating fruit. Both are okay unless taken to extremes. The most important thing is that they do not become idols to us. That they do not become our salvation. Christ is our salvation. So processed food is okay. Sugar is okay. Fruit is okay. Meat is okay. Exercise is okay. Medicine is okay. Television is okay. You get me here? If not done in the extreme, it is all okay if done in thankfulness.
God is very specific in instructing His children to not be like the world around them both in the old and new testaments. People still got sick eating good diets in biblical times. There is much more to it than our eating. (Though I do see what we eat and put in our bodies is important.) Sin is here now as we wait for His return. It is the reason why our bodies are slowly decaying and dying. Each of us has been given a number of days. This will not change if I eat a clean diet or a messy one. This statement will be hard for anyone who puts their hope in diet but it is true. Ultimately God is in control no matter what I do.
I know in wisdom we should take care of these temples the best we can. This, however, will look very different for each of us. Some of us have been given more freedom and grace from God to live in certain ways. We all must walk our own journey trusting in what God shows us and how the Holy Spirit leads. We cannot judge the brother or sister in Christ who chooses to do it differently than us.
Sin in this world is what makes us sick. The weak and sick around us are reminders of our very temporary life here. Maybe that is why so many run from it but I embrace it as a reminder that this world is not my home. I do not want to be to comfortable here. And if so many people had the right and best solutions for us to be healthy then why don't they not make them easier or cheaper for others to do? It reminds me of the works based salvation mindset, the steps of getting right with God that people easily buy into. The truth is that God sent His Son to die for us and to rescue us from the sin-stained world for eternity with Him in Heaven. He did this because of His great love for us. He uses every trial, including sickness, to help us decrease while we let Him increase in us.
Food is not the problem, though it can contribute, sin is. Let us not forget that. Let us keep Christ as our center and make the best decisions we can by faith. Let us walk together hand in hand in order to help and love well. Let us look to Christ. Let us trust our lives, no matter what they hold, to Him.
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