Hopefully, what you eat is a personal choice. Why hopefully, you may wonder. it is because some people are too poor to eat what they desire. Others may be in jail and have to eat whatever is on the menu. But we sincerely hope you are not in either of those categories as we continue with our series on Divine Health.
Last week, we talked about how the creation diet consisted of fruits and vegetables. We also said God added meat to the diet in Genesis 9 so you have no need of guilt if you like meat. It will not keep you from getting to heaven despite not being the perfect will of God.
God has given us free will and also given us all good things to enjoy. Some people use that free will to decide on meat, while others, like Daniel, use it to refrain from meat. God is not moved by whether you are a vegetarian or a meat lover. However, there is a reason we are here talking about what you eat. It has to do with Divine health, our overarching theme for this year.
Daniel’s habits were a powerful demonstration of the health benefits of limiting one’s diet to fruits and vegetables. We shall take a moment to consider what Daniel ate and perhaps what you eat from now on. But you only need to change your dietary habits if you want to live well and long. Don’t forget, the people who ate the creation diet lived to be hundreds of years before they died.
Your Health and What You Eat
If you think I sound like I wish I could be a vegetarian, you are right. But I hope I never become so ill that doctors would ask me to give up meat. Back to Daniel. He was neither in jail nor poor. In fact, despite being a refugee, he was living at the palace so he could eat whatever he liked. Yet he chose to live a vegetarian life.
At the end of ten days, Daniel and his friends looked healthier than those who ate the king’s portion. As you can imagine, the stewards were only too happy to take over Daniel’s portion of meat and wine. Their children would have loved it and perhaps loved Daniel for not wanting it.
What you eat influences your health more than any other part of your daily life. This is not to say that other aspects such as physical exercise or adequate sleep are not important. They are and we shall get to them later but your food is critical. Nutritionists tell us you are what you eat and some cultures regard good food as medicine. Both are accurate and that is why you must carefully consider what you eat, in the light of the bible.
Joseph Died Before His Older Brothers.
In scientific circles, you cannot draw a conclusion from one experiment. That is why the bible says a matter can only be established in the mouths of two or three witnesses. Therefore, you need more than Daniel to reach a conclusion about what you eat. We find a ready witness in the life of Joseph.
You may recall that his older brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. After several years, he ended up in the palace, where the food was very rich. He must have partaken of that rich food while his brothers returned to their grains and vegetables. It should therefore come as no surprise that he died before them. They had to take his coffin with them when they finally fled from Egypt.
What You Eat May Determine How Long You Live
If you want to live long, you must pay attention to what you eat. this is what forms the basis of the diets of the people in places that are known as ‘Blue Zones’ in the world. They are cities around the world where people live the longest, and are healthiest. They include : Okinawa in Japan; Sardinia in Italy; Nicoya, in Costa Rica; Ikaria in Greece, and Loma Linda in California.
Nothing stops you from including your home and community. Your most important step is to tailor what you eat to what the people in these zones eat. Naturay, living long is not only about food, but food is a large percentage of health. That is the basis of the Mediterranean diet, the mind diet and all those diets that claim to help you live better and longer.
This is not an endorsement of any of those diets since I don’t eat that way. what we are promoting her is God’s recommendation for what you eat. Even after reading this post, what you eat remains your choice. But from God’s perspective, divine health includes staying away from meat or severely limiting it.
Maranatha and To Your Health
