If Not Now, Then When?
We all do it. We all eat things we know are not the best choices for our health. We read the information that the microwave is bad, but we continue to use it anyways. We know that sunscreen causes skin cancer, but we use it anyway. We know those potato chips are bad for us, that soda is bad also, but we eat/drink them anyways.
Paul calls this honoring the ‘god of the belly.’ (Phil 3:19)
The Bible is full of warnings for those who are controlled by appetite. Adam and Eve lost their home in the Garden of Eden due to appetite. Jesus’s first temptation in the wilderness was in regard to appetite. His example showed us how important it is to control the appetite.
I’ve shared numerous posts on the dangers of certain foods. These are foods that are the foundation of the Standard American Diet (SAD). We know that eating the Standard American Diet leads to Standard American Diseases. Yet, people continue to eat it anyway.
“It will not affect me.”
“It’s not too bad taking these six pills every day.”Never mind that the pills do not resolve the underlying issue, but simply cover up the symptoms. It’s symptom management rather than healing.
One pill often leads to two, then to three, then to four, until one is taking a handful each day. Never mind the side effects that tell you the body is being poisoned.
“Oh, aren’t you being harsh?”
Am I? Or am I simply being truthful and a bit blunt?
1 Cor 6:19-20:
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Cor 3: 16-17:
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
If we claim to be a believer, then we have a moral obligation to take care of the body temple. In Rom 12:1-2, we read about giving our bodies as a living sacrifice. If we study the sacrificial system, we learn that the animal had to have no blemish.
None of us have perfect bodies, yet we can do our best to take care of it by eating a whole-food, plant-based diet and removing things from the diet that cause harm. We can make sure we drink enough water, get enough exercise and sleep, etc, as we obey God’s health laws (covered in another post).
The underlying ‘health law’ is temperance. Self-control.
Do we practice self-control over our appetite so we are not eating things harmful to our bodies/minds? When we consume junk, when we smear man-made chemicals on our skin, we are harming ourselves. We are unable to think as clearly. Our ability to learn will be negatively affected. Our ability to fight off illness will be negatively affected. Our ability to spiritually discern truth from error will also be negatively affected.
Recently, I posted about Dirty Genes by Dr Ben Lynch. I also shared about the book, ‘Goodbye Germ Theory’ by Dr William Trebing. Although the topic is different in each book, the steps to healing remain the same.
Throughout the past fifteen-plus years, I’ve watched countless documentaries on various diseases. The steps to healing remain the same.
- Eat a whole-food, plant-based diet.
- Remove dairy, gluten, and soy, (along with common food sensitivities).
- Detox.
- Supplement for nutritional deficiencies (including probiotics).
- Drink enough water.
- Get enough sleep.
- Get some sunshine (raise Vit D levels).
- Get enough exercise.
- Don’t eat too much. (Dr Lynch recommends 80% full.)
- Develop a spiritual life.
The challenge comes when people are told to stop eating certain foods due to their harmful nature. The majority wish to continue to eat those foods because they taste good. It doesn’t matter to them that the foods are harmful, which will lead to more disease and disability. It’s the mentality of ‘I want what I want. I want it NOW.’
Self-control is not on the radar for most people.
Sometimes I come across people who know they need to make changes, but they want to put it off.
Right now I’m asking, ‘If not NOW, then WHEN?’
When will we, as a child of God, decide that we will walk in obedience to all of His word and not what’s only convenient?
When will we, as a child of God, decide we will take the warning given in 1 Cor 3:16-17 seriously?
When will we, as a child of God, finally make a full commitment to living 100% in alignment with God’s biblical principles?
Time is running short.
If we continue to allow the ‘god of the belly’ to rule us, then we might miss out on some heavenly reward.
We might miss out on some important God-ordained spiritual assignments due to ill health or brain fog existing because of our lack of self-control.
God will have a remnant people who will be practicing 100% self-control so they can overcome every besetting sin, including the sin of appetite.
If not NOW, then WHEN?
Something to think about.