Faith and Nutrition, part 1
This week is Ash Wednesday which means the beginning of a 40 day period that some faith traditions use for contemplation and fasting leading up to Easter. It commemorates the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert and was tempted by Satan. (Matthew 4:1–11, Mark 1:12–13, and Luke 4:1–13).
The use of ashes on the forehead is a very concrete reminder that we have physical limitations in this life and no one can cheat death. It is in the 3rd chapter of Genesis, the chapter where the Fall of Adam and Eve is explained. Satan had deceived Eve by tempting her to eat of the Tree. She did eat of the Tree and she gave some to her husband. He ate. Then they felt ashamed and hid from God. This act of disobedience caused the Curse to fall on the land, and they would have to now work for their food, and their earthly bodies would now die. “For you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19
Many Christians that observe this day will begin the Lenten period by spending more time in prayer, giving of alms, and fasting or giving up a luxury in order to practice the spiritual discipline of self-control.
While I didn’t grow up in a church tradition that strictly followed the Lenten season, my parents integrated the spiritual discipline into our family life through mealtimes, giving, and discussions.
The past few years of my personal faith journey I have been noticing spiritual themes throughout Scripture.
I have a list of articles and podcasts that have helped to form my mind and heart around faith and nutrition. There is no particular order to the questions, but a simple compilation of my notes.
Maybe you have thought about these applications as well?
Does God care about our food choices? A classic place to start would be 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” The Dashing Dish had a helpful short commentary. She writes “God is interested in our health and how we benefit from it. It’s no surprise that what we put into our body’s impacts us physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.”
Does the Bible mention eating junk food? Got Questions mentions the Old Testament dietary laws (Leviticus 11) that God established for Israel to keep them healthy and to set them apart from other nations. “By following His dietary instructions, they would have less risk of intestinal parasites, malnutrition, and sickness brought on by unhealthy eating habits.”
1 Corinthians 3:16 contains the theme that our body is the temple of God “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” and “when we abuse our bodies through poor hygiene, substance abuse, self-harm, or junk food addiction, we are not taking good care of His temple. Eating junk food is not sin in itself, but when we continually stuff ourselves with it to the detriment of our bodies, our bank accounts, and our witness, it may have become an idol.”
Can’t I just do what I want with my body? 1 Corinthians 6:20 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” This chapter is where Paul is condemning lifestyle choices that aren’t honoring to our bodies. There was a common saying in the culture that day “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” that is quoted in verse 6:13. This was not an appropriate cultural perspective about caring for the physical body and Paul was specifically challenging the new believers to replace that kind of thinking.
What is the consequence of bad nutrition? Food is fuel for the body. When we don’t feel well we cannot continue to do the work that God has planned for us. “An unhealthy body will make us slow, lethargic, and prone to illness and injury. Good nutrition is crucial for proper brain function and hormonal balance; eating the right food contributes highly to our ability to think clearly and to our general quality of life. Therefore, good nutrition can help support our service for the Lord.” Got Questions
Ancient foods that were commonly eaten in the Old Testament.
Why would God design us to have bodies that are so fragile? Every day we need sleep. We cannot live for very long without food or water. And the right balance of all of these things can vary from day to day and activity to activity. Our energy stores are depleted when we have more people in our lives as well as commitments. We need to have daily hygiene practices. For the Israelites, the Old Testament law was to give them guardrails so they could stay healthy. They didn’t always understand why. Got Questions also said that “The ancient Egyptians suffered from the kinds of diseases that have ravaged mankind throughout history. Autopsies on Egyptian mummies have revealed evidence of cancer, arteriosclerosis, arthritis, tuberculosis, gallstones, bladder stones, parasitic diseases, and smallpox. They suffered many diseases because they did not understand the health principles God gave to Moses. Exodus 15:26 “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”
Why do some people get sick even when they do their best to stay healthy? Job is the story about the righteous man that didn’t deserve any of the bad things that came upon him. Satan said that Job was only a man of integrity because God had not touched his body. So God put Job “in Satan’s power; only spare his life”. Job was infected with boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. There was no natural consequence or the result of poor lifestyle choices that led to Job’s poor health. The point of this story? It isn’t so much a lesson on the randomness of sickness, but more a lesson on remaining faithful to God even in sickness and death. Spoiler alert: Job never cursed God and the end of the book tells us that God gave Job twice what he had lost.
The Bible has so many applications for our physical health. While God is ultimately concerned with our spiritual health, it is clear that our physical health is connected.
Do you celebrate Lent?
Do you see nutrition as a faith concept? How does nutrition fit into your spiritual framework?
I would love to hear your thoughts!
