ROOFTOP PETER - PART THREE
God, Moderation and Gluttony
Today is the third and last discussion of the relationship between God and food.
God's Word establishes the core principle that our bodies are the Holy Spirit's temple. They were purchased and sanctified through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ to be used to glorify Him.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV
“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.”
The Bible continues on in 1 Corinthians 10 instructing believers that our bodily stewardship includes dietary choices:
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (v. 31, NIV).
Honoring God through proper body care involves discipline and moderation. Believers are urged to avoid anything that enslaves them. We are to treat our God-given bodies with respect, and the abusive, addictive relationship many have with food is the utmost in self-disrespect:
Romans 12:1 NLT
“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.”
Physical and nutritional attentiveness is a form of worship. How many of us consider this when we sit down to a meal?
As we have discussed the last two days, abstinence from sources of unhealthy food is not punishment. Instead, God has created all types of food with exactly the perfect blend of nutritional value for our bodies that He has created.
Unfortunately, for every good thing created, the devil creates something sinfully tempting and appealing.
Somewhere along the line of modern food production, a label has been slapped on packaging meant to preserve freshness. It also educates us about added ingredients that create a longer, more stable shelf life.
After decades of believing labels, we have finally started reading and understanding the fine print of ingredients.
I don't believe this is what God had in mind for us.
I have heard nutritionists say "stick to the perimeter of a grocery store." This is generally where all of "God's packaging" is found in fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat. Ultra-processed food has slithered its way onto some of these shelves and bins.
We have gone on far too long by allowing government intercession into our food choices. The powers-that-be at the FDA deem what is and what is not healthy for us.
I am reminded of some European World Cup travelers visiting an American grocery store. One young man held up a loaf of bread and joked that Americans have 37 ingredients in our healthy, whole grain bread.
They have four: flour, water, yeast and salt.
Nearly every bag of American white flour has several ingredients on its label. It has been labeled "enriched" by re-adding ingredients that flour processing has removed.
Ingredients added or reintroduced like:
Bleached wheat flour ("Cup of Clorox with your eggs, Sir?)
Enzymes to aid fermentation & browning
Niacin (B3)
Iron (ferrous sulfate)
Thiamin mononitrate (B1)
Riboflavin (B2)
Folic acid (B9)
The five nutrients reinserted — niacin, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, and folic acid (a synthetic, man-made version of folate, indigestible by many) — have been added back into white flour as required by the FDA since the 1940s.
We have witnessed the uptick of government intervention into many of our health practitioners' care advice today. Doctors no longer treat life and longevity using God's natural resources, but practice government-mandated and insurance-encouraged medicine, doling out pills for this and a prescription for that.
Do I sound a bit cynical?
Perhaps I am, but my own health odyssey demands more research than my HMO includes in their care manifesto.
*Deep breath*
Rant over.
To circle back to my original observation about food: God's intent was to provide delicious nutrition from natural resources that He created to be perfect for our thriving needs.
God never intended for us to consume the devil's ultra-processed foods wrapped in deceptive packaging while claiming to be "healthy" or "good for you!"
In fact, that's the point. If it needs a wrapper with a nutrition information label, God did not create that (in most cases).
He may have created some of the ingredients on the label, but not the abomination of the final product, filled with man-made preservatives and other unrecognizable food concoctions.
Speaking of labels, The Bible explicitly warns against labeling God-created foods as evil, viewing such practices such as prohibition of eating animals as demonic doctrines rather than God's divine truth and provision. We may each have food preferences, but they should not be emotionally punitive towards others.
Colossians 2:16 NKJV
“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths...”
Scripture teaches us that food is just food. It contains nutrients, not morality. We do not earn badges of honor or dishonor by our food preferences. Jesus reminds us that food enters the stomach, not the heart (Mark 7:18). Physical food cannot defile a person. Defilement comes from an addiction to food or obsession with eating that is hidden within our own hearts.
I Timothy 4:1, 3-5 NKJV
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons .... commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”
The Apostle Paul identifies evil intentions yet reminds us all the earth is the Lord’s. Any food received with gratitude is considered clean. Labeling certain foods as inherently evil or sinful contradicts the biblical principle that everything God created is good.
Must we not consider that unhealthy, ultra-processed foods were not God-inspired, and therefore not part of God’s master plan?
In most all cases, the body-as-temple principle (1 Corinthians 6:19–20) actually supports being cautious about what you consume.
Christian writers today draw a clear line: God created the raw ingredient, but industrial processing can turn it into something He never intended.
We can process an apple or orange into something that closely resembles a glass of sugar. But the harm is not in the creation. It is in the human engineering that strips it of its God-created nutrition and adds synthetic additives.
Theologically, the food pyramid is more nuanced:
Calling an ultra-processed food "unhealthy" is a scientific/medical observation, not a religious prohibition. This is acceptable and consistent with good stewardship.
Calling a food "evil" in a moral superiority or spiritual sense is where man gets it wrong.
The Bible's concern with food and nutrition, then, is not with health literacy, but rather religious legalism.
Your doctor saying "this might contribute to heart disease" is helpful.
A pastor, priest or rabbi saying "God forbids eating this" is mere religious cherry-picking.
GOD'S PLATE LOOKS DELICIOUS
Disclaimer: I am not giving health advice. I am not qualified for that. What I am endeavoring is to regain my health through sound, godly dietary choices.
Whether we subscribe to a carnivore, keto, paleo, whole 30, vegetarian, vegan, or zero-restriction diet: We are to honor God and His Temple (our bodies) with our choices.
All consumption should be done to the glory of God.
We are warned against gluttony and idolatry of whatever we eat or drink. When food or drink controls our lives, our spiritual and physical health deteriorates.
Proverbs 23:20-21 NKJV
“Do not mix with winebibbers, or with gluttonous eaters of meat; for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.”
Moderation is the antidote to gluttony and the key to adhere to with all created sustenance and provision.
Mush
P.S. My new, godly eating plan (The Rooftop Peter plan) includes all of these options:
MEAT:
Beef, lamb, pork, venison, rabbit, chicken, duck, turkey, fish, shellfish and all sorts of other things like alligator and quail.
DAIRY:
Milk (goat, sheep, cow) (gonna try to switch to raw), cheese, curds, butter and ghee. Maybe sour cream if I can find one without additives
OTHER PROTEIN:
Eggs
VEGETABLES:
Everything but eggplant (personal preference)
FRUITS:
Figs, dates, grapes (and raisins), pomegranates, olives, apples, melons, cucumbers, and gourds. (Adding other fruits like tangerines and stone fruits, too.)
NUTS:
Almonds, walnuts, pecans, pine and pistachio nuts. (Peanuts and seed-oil, no-sweetener-added peanut butter, too).
GRAIN:
Wheat, barley, spelt, millet, rye, oats, rice and corn.
LEGUMES:
Lentils, beans, chickpeas, and peas.
BAKED GOODS:
Bread (leavened and unleavened), oat bars, and pure unadulterated flour (probably non-enriched Italian or French flour).
HERBS/SPICES:
Nothing is off the table.
CONDIMENTS:
Olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Bye-bye ketchup. (Also, pure organic avocado-oil based dressings. I'll have to trust some labels or bite the bullet and make my own).
Bon appétit!