Eating Right – Giving My Body to God (What the Health)

Anyone else watch, What the Health on Netflix recently? Or Food, Inc., or Forks Over Knives or Supersize Me or any of the myriad of other films on changing our American eating habits? I get it. After watching every one of these, I’m on board! I’m all in and I trash all the junk food in the kitchen (or eat it with the promise of not replacing it… waste not, want not right?) and force my kids to change with me.

Anyone else? Just me?

But it doesn’t stick. It lasts a couple months, or weeks, or days… and then I’m back to my cheeseburgers and nachos. Why is it so hard to eat right? It makes sense logically to eat healthily but I don’t do it.

I used to blame it on my genes. I would think weight gain and obesity “run’s in my family” and I’ll have to fight to be thin my whole life. I’ve been thin before, and I could be thin now, but it takes me owning up to the real cause of my weight issues. Me. My obsession with unhealthy food. My unwillingness to give my body to God.

I recently watched a message from Robert Morris called “Glorify God in Your Body” that convicted me to my core. This is the truth I’ve been denying. Eating excessively is a sin.

Just like lying, cheating, stealing and prostituting; eating excessively (the Bible calls it gluttony) is a sin. Gluttony is always associated with drunkards in the Bible because it’s a self-control issue. It’s about indulging beyond what is needed and being governed by our desires. It’s like getting drunk on food! But somehow we’ve accepted it in our culture.

Now, before you hate me, let me say this. We all have a lot of sins we deal with on a daily basis. God is gracious and there is no judgment here. Just revelation and truth that has hit home for me so I want to share it with you.

I have a choice every day to be obedient to what God has spoken to me. I surrender my time, my thoughts, my plans and my relationships, but I had convinced myself that God didn’t really care that I’m overweight. But that’s not true. The Bible is full of appeals to be obedient to God regarding our bodies.

“And so, dear brothers and sisters. I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” Romans 12:1 NLT

How can I do all that God has called me to do if I’m unwilling to surrender my most intimate thing to Him? My food. My comfort. My pleasure. My will and my right to indulge. My body.

How can I be fully surrendered to Him if I’m making daily choices that literally remove days from my lifetime? I want to be on this earth as long as possible so that I can accomplish all that He has set out for me to do.

I’m choosing to pursue a plant-based lifestyle because I believe it’s the right thing for me to do. God told me to take care of my body, to be healthy, and to not put anything above Him, that includes food. So for the first time in my life, rather than “trying a new diet”, I’m going to eat right out of obedience. Because I want to please God and I want to put His will above my own. I want to worship him with my obedience.

Are you with me?

What has God been telling you about your body? Has He been prodding you to eat better? Has He been asking you to exercise or cut out a bad habit? Whatever it is, I encourage you to take the leap of obedience in that area and trust that he will help you along the way.

Here’s the best part; He always knows what’s best for us. His plans are better than our plans. If you trust Him and follow Him, you will never regret it. I am SO looking forward to the body that God has planned for me!

“Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.“ 1 Thessalonians 5: 23-24 NLT