A Balanced Diet

by Dewayne Noel

February 2008

The pursuit of better health, and subsequently a better life is indeed a worthy endeavor. It is common knowledge to the Christian that being a proper steward of everything that God has given us is an important part of life. It follows then that, since the health of our human body is one of those gifts that we are to be thankful for and to care for, we have a need for the information, products and services such as is provided by this and other similar businesses.

But to what end does it all eventually lead? If I am to seek out both the knowledge and the products necessary to help me maintain my health, what is to be my ultimate reason for the maintaining of that health? This is an important question, as a great deal of both my money and time would be spent in my search, and both my money and time belong to God. Would I then be a good steward of all the resources that have been placed at my disposal?

It depends. If I am engaging in the level of effort and expense that so many people today are and yet my ultimate reason is only to improve or maintain my health just for the sake of that health itself, then the answer is no. In this case, I am not being a good steward, I am not pleasing God and I am loosing my focus on what is important in life.

The body is mortal. The flesh, according to the scripture, is corrupt. We are all dying from the day of our birth. All the herbs, teas and extracts in the world cannot change that. All they can do is slow the inevitable down and perhaps help keep you energized for a time while also partially protecting you from some diseases. In the end, however, you still have to face… well, the end.

So, that being said, if you are not maintaining your health for the right reason then you are wasting your time and resources. You are fighting a battle you cannot win. Even the reasoning that “I eat healthy just because it at least makes me feel better while I am still alive” will not hold up to sound scrutiny.

The truth is that we are put on this earth to glorify God. That, in a nutshell, is the very reason for our existence. Everything that we do is to be for the purpose of serving him and lifting him up. Knowing that we are only human, God has made some provisions for us in order to help us accomplish that work. God gave us a spouse, a “help meet”, to partner with us and assist us in that work. God gives vacations and time away to rest and recharge from the work in order to gain the strength to get back into the fight. And God gives us the fruit of “every green tree” for the maintaining of our body so that we will have the strength, energy, health and longevity to carry on the work he has set before us.

Most aspects of life are made up of “where do you want to go?” followed by “how will you get there?” For example, “I want to be a doctor” is necessarily followed by “I will go to high school, college, med-school and then get an internship.” The education is the means to the end, the end being a medical degree. Unfortunately, some people get so caught up in the education that the education becomes the end itself, and the medical degree is forgotten. And thus, they spend the rest of their days as professional students acquiring an education that helps them achieve nothing, for “nothing” is exactly what they are now aiming for.

So, back to the original question. Why take extra care with the maintenance of my health? The Answer? So that I can serve God and people better and for a longer period of time. Well, then. What if I am a guest for dinner in someone’s house and they set a big ol’ plate of deep-fried cat fish in front of me, along with a loaf of bread and a bowl of milk gravy, both of which are made with enriched, white flour and homogenized milk? Suppose it is served with fried potatoes, fried okra and macaroni-and-cheese? And then, just because they like me, they offer me deep-fried candy bars for desert, and it’s all washed down with a two liter bottle of generic cola from the local supermarket (which, of course, if loaded with white sugar and phosphoric acid.) What do I do? Politely nibble a few bites until I get home, then fast for three days? No. You eat what is set before you, and enjoy it! Because your purpose in life is to be a blessing and helper to people, and your health food will not help you to help them in this particular situation. So your diet is temporarily useless in its actual intended purpose, but your graciousness and good manners are quite valuable. (THEN you can go home and fast for three days!)

EVERYTHING is to glorify God and help others, and you should always be willing to discard one tool and pickup another as needed. The point here is to encourage you to maintain balance and focus, and to not only know quite clearly what you do to maintain good health, but why you do it.

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