
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
We are only blessed with one life and body to live it in, so why do we abuse our bodies on such a regular basis?
Is it not incumbent upon ourselves to take positive care of our health and well-being?
When we become frail and sick, we expect that through the miracles of modern medicine that our doctors will be capable of putting us back together again. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for them when they see the same patient over and over again with illnesses that are entirely preventable and within the patients ability to control – if only they would. How often can or should your clergy, church family and other loved ones continue to pray for us when we often times simply will not quit abusing our bodies with the excessive consumption of poor nutrition food choices…
In churches all across the country, it is common for the congregations to gather together for fellowship over a potluck dinner. It is not uncommon that if your church is near an all you can eat buffet that many congregants will get together for an after services lunch. While these gatherings are a good thing in my opinion, there is also a downside to them. That downside is – “ALL YOU CAN EAT”!
The concept of “all you can eat” is proof that quantity is no substitute for quality. Seriously, stop and consider the quality of the food you can get with all you can eat settings. If we are to be intellectually honest, we have all seen the one who is abusing God’s temple by getting gluttonous with all the sugary treats that can be found at these gathering places. Ironically enough, we can listen to our pastors preach about living a sin free life each Sunday morning, to simply turn around and abuse your bodies with the very foods we eat. What is God to think of us when we can study the words of David in the book of Psalms, chapter 139 verses 13 and 14:
“for it was You who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You because I have been fearfully and wonderfully made”.
Gluttony worships food to feed our own self-love.
We were created with great reverence, heart-felt interest, and respect to be unique and set apart! We were not created to abuse ourselves, therefore it is only obvious that this self harm is going to make us sick and frail and some point in our lives.
Merriam-Webster defines gluttony as “habitual greed or excess in eating…greedy or excessive indulgence”. Gluttony is defined as the over-indulgence or lack of self-restraint in food, drink, or wealth items, especially as status tokens. The English word comes from the Latin and means “to gulp.”
With the alarming rate of modern obesity we see today, perhaps many have forgotten or forsaken the warnings against gluttony and its deadly consequences. There are a lot of reasons for obesity in our culture. It’s not just that we eat a lot of bad food. We’re also pretty inactive and don’t do a lot of walking, running, biking, etc. Oftentimes obesity issues are connected as much to activity issues as they are to what goes into our mouths. Muscles are designed to burn food, but if they aren’t being used then any amount of food is going to result in obesity.
The good news for you is that if you are suffering from obesity, we can help you to turn it all around. By following David’s Way to Health and Fitness, you will learn how to eat in order to properly nourish your body. And best of all, we will never charge you a single cent to do so.
That is so true. Great read.
Thank you Carolyn. We are moving towards our helping others to also being faith based.