Food and Fear

So, this is part two of what looks like will become a three part series. In part One, I shared my opinion on the food idolatry we see so often today, and how some related healings we've seen in street ministry really testify to God's willingness to heal and forgive.

Part two will address the flipside of food idolatry. Many Christians rightly turn to clean eating after discovering the problems with our modern food system, but they do so out of fear, and not faith. In this post I will try to identify where so many go wrong.

Food for Health

I believe God gave us many therapeutic foods to keep us in good health. These foods can assist us in keeping our temples running well. God is good, and He invented beneficial plants, herbs, etc. Our bodies must be acceptable sacrifices for the Lord--this is our act of worship. There comes a time when God calls us to abstain from different things in order to worship Him distracted. For many, this means avoiding harmful foods and selectively eating solely healthy foods...The things that God has given us to keep us healthy!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above..." James 1:17

Food can displace Faith

The problem begins when Christians, in their quest to eat clean, begin fearfully avoiding certain foods. And fear is not within faith, because faith in God allows His "perfect love casts out all fear".

Many believers forget that we do not wage war against flesh and blood. We do not wage war against GMO's, hydrogenated fat, or processed wheat. Instead, we need to wage war against the devil...he is the one who comes to kill, and destroy. Fear of harmful foods gives the enemy freedom to do his job. We cannot focus on negative things. Instead, we should think about "whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable..."

In many ways, our logical thinking can hinder our faith. Knowing that a food is inherently harmful,according to science, creates a spiritual atmosphere that gives evil forces access to manifest these harmful side effects. We cannot safely eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil without putting up the shield of faith. And this protective faith is available by the work of the Holy Spirit. Faith keeps us safe from information that might otherwise send us into fear.

Food is not the Healer

So, food is not our enemy. It is not our healer, either. God deserves all the glory for healings. He is a jealous God, and He deserves all the attention! We overcome by the "blood of the lamb and the Word of His testimony"! And our testimony ought to glorify the miraculous provisions of the Lord. Something is wrong if our testimony starts sounding like a paid advertisement of the latest nutritional product. I don't care what product this is--let's "trust in the Lord with all of [our] heart, and lean not on [our] own understanding". We should instead seek the Lord, and not "the physicians", like King Asa did. Let's allow God to supernaturaly bless our bodies and our health by going all in for Him!