Healthy Living

We are taught that food is sacred. From as far back as I can remember, my dad always asked God to sanctify our every meal with a blessing. "Lord, bless the reception of this food. Amen."  I was taught before preschool to bless my food. "God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen."  

Throw away sacred food that's been blessed? No way! Eat it all or save it in the refrigerator for later.

Food is sacred. It keeps us going and nourishes our body. Food is a gift of God. And in America, He has gifted us with more than plenty. 

Because food is sacred, we have been taught to never throw it away. And besides, Mom used to say, "Eat those turnip greens. People are starving in China!"  Well, I thought, "They can have mine!"  But now, I'm glad to say that I actually like turnip greens and have for a long time. They're a healthy food. And, I'm learning to like Brussels sprouts and asparagus. My wife goes out of her way to fix them so that they are palatable to me. 

Jesus' disciples set the example for saving food. After He miraculously fed the 5,000, there was plenty left over. I mean PLENTY!  The disciples found twelve baskets, one for each disciple I suppose, and gathered the broken pieces to save the leftovers. I don't know how long fish will keep without refrigeration, but they surely had something in mind to do with the bountiful left overs!

What an example the disciples gave us about saving left over food!

And, what about those heaping restaurant servings when you're stuffed to the gills and can't eat all of it. "Yea, we'll have a take home box" thinking we'll eat it later. But, that seldom gets eaten either. In the trash it goes!

After we started eating healthy food, I decided "no leftovers" for me with but few exceptions. We'll save my red beans and sausage and Joyce's home made soup. Some goes in the refrigerator for the next day, and the rest goes in the freezer. 

As for restaurant food, I've started ordering as healthy as I can. No more Outback Bloomin' Onions. Now, that is a sacrifice!  No more fried seafood platters or loaded baked potato from Red Lobster. I'll have broiled flounder and steamed broccoli, thank you. 

And leftover restaurant food? No more take home for us. We leave it to be trashed. Ouch!

I've come to the conclusion that's it's not a sin to throw away food! It's a sin to pack it into my body for fat storage. 

I was taught as a child to "clean my plate."  That works fine for an active child because after dinner, I would go outside and play chase or kick-the-can with my friends. Calories would burn off in no time. 

That was fine for me when I was a child, but it's not good now that I am mostly a sedentary adult. I do walk at least a mile each day, but that is not enough to burn all the carbs I used to eat. 

Throw away food?  There is scriptural justification for that. In Leviticus 19:5-6, the Bible says, "When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up."

If it's OK for the Children of Israel to burn up good food after two days, it's got to be OK for me to throw it in the garbage! 

In Colossians 1:10, the Apostle Paul says, "Live a life worthy of the Lord and and please Him in every way."  I don't think God is pleased with my obese body. Yes, he loves me fat and all. But, is He pleased?  I doubt it. I think the Lord would be pleased in my 180 pound body which I am striving to get into which means throwing away food. 

One day in the future, I'll step into my 180 pound body. I am committed to walking and eating healthily with small portions. Today, Joyce fixed fresh salmon, steamed broccoli, a slice of Ezekiel 4:9 bread, and strawberries sprinkled with cinnamon for dessert. Nothing was wasted. It was satisfying. Most of all, it was healthy. 

One day, I will reach my target weight of 180 pounds with God's help and my wife's support. It may take three months. It may take a year. But, I will reach my goal!  I have 50 more pounds to shed. 

I have Proverbs 13:19 cheering me on too. "A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul."  I'm longing to be 180 pounds, and when I get there, it will be sweet to my soul. It will be a new kind of sweet for me. It won't be the sweet taste from chocolate, cake, pie, or candy. It will taste sweeter than any dessert. It will be sweet to my soul, and that is the sweet my soul longs to taste.