Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Changing my Definition of Health

"Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers." -3 John 1:2

There is a belief out there that is commonly referred to as the Prosperity Gospel that believes that God's will for all of us is to be wealthy and never get sick. It goes further to assume that if one is suffering either physically or financially, then they must not have enough faith, or they are not praying enough, or something is wrong with them spiritually. They use the verse above to "prove" their theory. Then there is the evangelical church (which I grew up in and am still part of) that goes the complete opposite direction and says that health and wealth have nothing to do with God or the state of our spirituality. Being in "good health" is nice to wish for, but not focused on at all as a responsibility we have to God.

In our western culture, the term "health" is basically synonymous with being thin. Whenever someone speaks of someone who is "unhealthy" aren't they usually implying that the person is overweight? When we see commercials on television for "healthy" food, doesn't it usually come with guarantees of low calories, low fat, low cholesterol, etc.? But what is health, really? According to dictionary.com, health is defined as "the general condition of the body or mind with reference to soundness and vigor; freedom from disease or ailment". Funny how it doesn't say anything about how thin or fat someone is, but focuses on lack of disease and soundness and vigor of the body.

As Christians, do we fall into the same trap the world does thinking of health in terms of "fat" and "skinny"? Do we make New Year's resolutions with the rest of the world to lose a few pounds? If so, why? Are we under the misguided impression that if we lose weight, we will therefore be healthy?

Ok, so why am I asking all of these questions? Surely its not a sin to lose weight, so who cares if someone thinks they are healthy because they lost a few pounds? I am writing all of this because I have been learning more and more about what a healthy body looks like and I believe God wants us to be good stewards of the shell he has given us to reside in while we are here on earth.

I used to think that illnesses like cancer, as horrible as it is, "just happens" to some people. Now I realize that cancer grows in the body when it is exposed to certain substances, chemicals or toxins. It seems so straight-forward when we think of Lung Cancer. Its no secret that breathing Nicotine can cause lung cancer, but when it comes to other types of cancer, the answers don't come as easily. However, I think its a little more black and white than what popular culture has lead us to believe. Now, I want to stop a minute and clear one thing up. In no way am I suggesting that it is anyone's fault that they get cancer. Whereas the dangers of smoking are widely known, few people commonly know the dangers of preservatives, food additives and other dangerous substances found in our food. Many people have unhealthy habits and they have no idea the type of harm they are causing in their bodies. Also, unlike the "Health & Wealth" prosperity folks, I am not saying that someone is less spiritual in any way because of an illness they have contracted. In fact, those are the times that draw many to the Lord and increase their faith. "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick." -Mark 2:17. God is our ultimate physician and it is natural to cling to Him when we are suffering.

I used to be an "everything in moderation" kind of person. No harm in eating fast food, as long as you don't eat it every day. Junk food is fine to enjoy from time to time as long as one is not eating it all the time. I was always the person who could eat horribly and not gain much weight from it. People would say how "lucky" I was. However, now that I'm realizing that every time I eat junk food I am incurring harm to my body, I don't feel lucky anymore.

For what its worth, I am not standing high on any "eating healthy" pedistal looking down on the "lowly" people who eat the standard junk that is the typical American diet. I have posted previously that I am a recovering sugar-a-holic. In fact, I gave into temptation today and went through the drive-thru at Burger King. I won't say that eating fast food is a sin, but just that God has shown me that its not something he wants for me and probably by extention its not what he wants for ANY of his children. If this makes you uncomfortable, I would challenge you to pray about it, start doing your research about the benefits of healthy eating and think about what you want the quality of your life to be. I think there is a lot of truth to the notion that how you eat may not add years to your life (although it may if you avoid certain illnesses that might take you earlier than you would otherwise go) but it will increase the quality of those final years. I think of my grandmother who believed very strongly in herbal remedies. I wrote her off for a long time as "crazy Grandma" with all her garlic pills and acidophilus! She definitely had some health issues going on (including a heart problem) but do you know how she died? She passed on quietly and peacefully sitting at the kitchen table with family. They didn't even know she had passed....I think some thought she had fallen asleep! If I could choose how to go, that'd be it! Who's to say if her peaceful passing was a result of her lifestyle or if God was just merciful to her, but I like to think there's a connection with how she lived her life.

The bottom line is that for me to tackle this new healthy lifestyle, its going to take me depending fully on God for the strength to pass on my cravings, saying "no" to the bad and "yes" to the good. Here's a short little video that gives you a starting place to start thinking about how the food we eat can restore us and keep us in good health.

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