There is no denying the value and benefits of healthful eating. We have a much better chance of having a healthy mind if it is housed in a well-nourished healthy body. When we are healthy we make better decisions because our minds are not affected by internal poisons, chemical imbalances and medications. When we are healthy we have more reserves and are more patient with others thus creating a happier atmosphere for all concerned.
However sometimes we make the mistake of turning diet into a religion. Religion is about our morality and our walk with God. It is a truth Jesus wanted us to understand. In Mark 7 Jesus asked, “Are you so dull?” Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body. What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, immorality, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander and arrogance. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”
Jesus is not telling us everything is healthy to eat. We know better than that. He is trying to tell us life has priorities. The way we treat each other is far more important than examining each other’s grocery carts.
“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Romans 14:17
Written April 30, 2003