STEEMCHURCH: learn to interact with food in a way that praises the Creator

What happens if healthy eating is not really healthy?

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We can probably agree that overeating or obsessing over food is sinful idolatry. But could I also be sinning while I am eating a well-balanced diet, low in carbohydrates and high in protein, and losing weight? Or, what if you are a woman who has never had problems with overeating, but have you always been too cautious about your eating habits?

Did you ever think that as you are eating without pesticides, without chemicals, without dyes, without calories, without fat, without gluten, without dairy products, or without carbohydrates, you could also be eating without Jesus Christ?

     I can achieve my calorie goal of the day, exercise three to five times a week, and complete my food diary and, still, be more in bondage than ever.

Instead of dreaming about Belgian waffles, I may be missing Greek yogurt and granola. Instead of asking me what I'm going to eat next, maybe I'll think about how my lunch meal calories will change my plans for dinner. I stay hungry for most of the week to be able to consume those calories on the weekend with my husband. I overdo exercise to rid more calories.

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Even when I'm losing weight, I live or die every morning because of the numbers on the scale when I weigh myself.

Not all healthy eating is idolatry. You can be a person naturally aware of health; caring for your weight, eating the right amount of fruits and vegetables, and limiting your carbohydrates can come naturally. But if you are living a life consumed by the crazed count of calories, manipulating the time of the meal, and the worry of what you weigh, it is very likely that you are looking at the face of your idol.

A heart idolizing the food looks the same on the inside if it is the overweight customer at the gas station grabbing the last box of cupcakes, or if it is the mother of the suburb neighborhood crossing the entire city in order to buy healthy and organic food at the specialty stores.

Whether or not you are battling the weight, you must be attentive to the battle for what you are worshiping. What you might call a healthy lifestyle may actually be the Heresy of Healthy Eating. No healthy way to eat is worth all your time, dedication and attention.

Jesus did not die so that you can wear size two or have low cholesterol, but to forgive your ungodly desires for the things of this world.

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So, how to fight against the idol of a healthy diet?
Identify it by its name. Admit if you know that your diet is not simply a lifestyle. If healthy life is demanding you to the last drop of affection, surrender your efforts and confess your idolatry. Ask God to help you identify the idol you are serving; which could be pride, greed, vanity, or the approval of man. Ask the Holy Spirit for specific conviction regarding your struggle.

Stand in His grace. God is right and just and requires that all sin be recognized. But for me, by the grace of God, my debt has been paid for the death of Jesus on the cross. I no longer rely on my own righteousness and sinlessness, but I am in the grace of His unmerited favor. I am forgiven because Jesus was punished in my place.

Walk by faith. I totally depend on the Holy Spirit to move forward. I ask you to grant me the wisdom to make good decisions, self-control to obey and merciful conviction for the times I stumble.

I have often wished I could stop eating completely. It would be easier if I did not have to struggle with food problems at all. Unfortunately, this is never going to be a viable option. God has provided food to sustain us with the nutrients necessary for survival. Food will always be a part of the perfect plan of God's provision for our sustenance in this world. Instead of giving up the battle, I must learn to interact with food in a way that praises the Creator, without idolizing the food He created.

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