Faith and Food

Faith and Food have always gone hand in hand.  Food is everywhere in faith traditions like Christmas and Easter, not to mention potlucks, funerals, baby showers, bible studies.  Everywhere we go in faith it feels as though food is there too.

There is nothing inherently wrong with food, but I found that the way I learned to love food didn’t align with what I knew God was calling me to do. I knew that God wanted me to treat my body better.  I was treating it like a dumpster – filling it to the brim with all kinds of junk.  Delicious junk, sure, but junk all the same.  God kept nudging me to do better with how I fueled my body, but something just wasn’t clicking in me. 

Christian Objections

There were a few objections I kept hearing in the Christian community that made me question what I knew God wanted me to do.

• God has better ways for us to use our time other than meal planning or exercising.  He doesn’t care what we eat! 
• “Getting healthy” promotes vanity. 
• God gave us food so we might as well enjoy it! 

Still, I kept reading things like:

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

And

12 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 13 You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. 14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead. 15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ?

1 Corinthians 6:12-15 

So what? It’s just food.

As I watched the my weight climb and my energy levels decrease, I knew that this couldn’t be what God had intended. These verses I had sparked something in me, and I was determined to find what God truly desires for us. Here are 3 of my realizations so far:

So I’m tackling this from both angles. I’m learning how to eat healthier in a simple and sustainable way.  But I’m not going on a diet. No rules or restrictions. For me, this creates a balance between enjoying God’s gifts, but treating food as fuel and not as an idol. 

I also am doing this to better myself for GOD.  When I get busy, I tend to eat poorly.  My body responds to this by being sluggish and even getting sick. When I’m sick and sluggish, I’m not performing at a level that is allowing me to serve to the best of my ability. 

The Plan

I’m NOT doing this to be “better” than anyone else.  I want to be better than I was, but I refuse to compare myself to others.  I do however want to be an encouragement, because gluttony and food issues tend to be so overlooked in the church.

Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them.

Romans 14:3

I recently found a program that has no rules or restrictions. It simply is a mindset shift that teaches how food is fuel for our bodies to perform at their best. I’m always a little leery of mindset things, because I find that they become very “Me” centered.  I found this approach to be really healthy though, and am bolstering that with learning from the spiritual side of things too.

I hope you will join Cody and I as we run our first ever “Faith and Food Bootcamp”.  When you sign up you will receive:

• A one month nutrition course led by me, a certified mentor 
• A bible study that aligns with the nutrition course led by Cody and I
• Lifetime access to 40+ videos in the nutrition course
• 1 month of family-friendly recipes, grocery lists, and meal prep tips emailed to you each week
• A meal tracker to help you see where you are at and where you can make progress
• A water bottle
• And MORE!

Sound like a good fit for you? Let us know here!

• Category: Health, Mindset/On My Mind