How Do I Eat In A Way That Glorifies God
While no food is off-limits, what does it mean to eat in a way that honors the answer to the question What does the Bible say about diets?
How do we eat all things with self-control while treating our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit?
Well, it depends.
Each of us is unique. We each thrive on different types of foods, various portions sizes, and individualized eating schedules. You and I each have our own areas of strength and those in need of growth.
What it takes to glorify God in your eating depends on what the Holy Spirit has for you.
1. How is the Holy Spirit leading me?
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
Isaiah 30:21
If were honest, we often know in our heart of hearts whether our eating is in line with godly behavior or not. It is easy to find justifications to eat but godliness doesnt bend to our excuses.
Take a moment to listen to that still, small voice before eating. You dont need to be afraid to confront the truth because the Holy Spirit will empower your decision to be obedient.
2. Is this food beneficial for both my body and the calling God has on my life?
All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up.
i corinthians 10:23 ESV
There is no bad food in Gods eyes. He doesnt count calories or measure your worth based on your latest eating performance.
Sprouted Grains And Breads
Ezekiel 4:9 NIV: Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side.
In the Bible, bread appears repeatedly as the substance of life. Jesus even referred to Himself as the Bread of Life. The bread in Bible times used none of the modern and damaging refining methods of today. The kind of nutritious bread they served often involved the sprouting of natural grains and was a basic part of their diets.
Whole grain sourdough and sprouted-grain breads involve the soaking or fermenting of grains overnight until the seeds are partially sprouted. This process actually make these carbohydrates more easily digestible. A recent study showed that wheat sprouted for 48 hours had a higher count of amino acids, dietary fiber, and antioxidant activity. Ezekiel bread is one kind of sprouted bread that boasts of great health benefits.
You can find both pros and cons about this nutritious bread. More and more grocery stores are stocking flour made from spelt, barley, or other healthy grains. Spelt flour is one of my favorites, and while it is a heavier flour, I substitute it in recipes for all my flour needs, including pies and gravies.
Photo by Wesual Click on Unsplash
God Has Given Both Believers And Unbelievers Food To Eat
1. Psalm 146:7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,
2. Genesis 9:3 Every living creature will be food for you as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything.
3. Genesis 1:29 God said, I have given you every plant with seeds on the face of the earth and every tree that has fruit with seeds. This will be your food.
Don’t Miss: We Are Born Sinners Bible Verse
Can Christians Eat Meat
Most Christians eat meat, and may do so believing that God intended animals for our consumption. But as eating animals was not Gods intention when He created the world, Christians striving to return to the Garden of Eden increasingly see eschewing meat as one way to get closer to God. Pastor Rob Munro founded the Saint Francis of Assisi Parish of The Humanitarian Church, a vegan church in New York. He believes that with animal flesh in your body, you block the connection to God. He says we dont need to go to church to find that connection: Stop eating meat, live a proper life, and God will find you.
Pastor Rob is not alone. There are many more priests, pastors and worshippers all over the world whose faith has led them to vegetarianism or veganism. In his essay I am a Christian Therefore I am Vegan, the Revd John Ryder writes: What the Bible has to say about Gods purpose for Creation in the beginning, and what things will again be like at the end of time, is perfectly clear. In between I know the majority accepted the eating of meat. They also accepted the practice of slavery. I am sure one day Christians will be as ashamed of the former as they are now of the latter.
Daniel Ate His Veggies
Daniel might be most famous for overnighting in the lions’ den without becoming their dinner, but his diet is also noteworthy. At a time when he and his three fire-walking friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego first became Babylonian slaves, they all rejected the king’s delicacies and wine, choosing to subsist on a diet of vegetables and water instead.
At the end of 10 days, all four youths were found to be healthier than those who had eaten the king’s food, and Daniel continued this diet during his three-year training. Today, the Bible-based Daniel Diet is used as a 21-day fast that includes not just vegetables, but legumes, fruits, nuts, grains and seeds also.
Although the most recent study specific to the Daniel Diet was completed in 2010, subsequent studies have duplicated the results that certain cardiovascular risks, such as overall cholesterol, are reduced when a whole food diet that includes natural foods found on the Daniel Diet is followed. Reduction in total caloric intake is a crucial factor in the study results, whether or not meat is included in the menu.
You May Like: Emotional Abuse Bible
Bible Verses About What We Should Not Eat
Bible verses related to What We Should Not Eat from the King James Version by Relevance
Topics and verses are auto-generated from user searches. If a verse or topic does not belong, please contact us. Some scripture references/categories courtesy of Open Bible .info under CC BY 3.0
Search the King James Version for more references about What We Should Not Eat…
Food Is A Direct Blessing And Provision From Him
God also cares about what you eat because He created all of it for your health and enjoyment. Just take a moment to contemplate the fact that He fashioned each and every food for a specific purpose in your body. How creative is our God?!
I know a doctor who always says, Eat your vitamins. The vitamins and minerals found in food are far superior to those found in isolated supplements. She says that science is still discovering all the factors and co-factors found in each food. These help each nutrient be absorbed in the perfect amount. Supplement companies simply cant replicate that. For an in-depth guide on supplements, read What Supplements Should I Take?. The power of healing in food is another awesome testament to our great God!
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Food has a special place in the heart of God. Remember the meat sacrifices in the Old Testament, which were a sweet-smelling aroma to Him?
John 6:51 says, I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. God uses food to illustrate Jesus sacrifice every Sunday when we take the Lords Supper. We do this just as the early church gathered together weekly to partake . It keeps us reliant on Him. Remember Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. .
Read Also: Bible Verses About Praying Without Ceasing
The Biblical Main Course
Meat was undoubtedly eaten less often than it is today, as preparing meat usually involved hours of butchering and cleaning the beast before it ever made its way into the cooking pot. In fact, slaughtering an animal such as the fatted calf in the story of the prodigal son or Joseph throwing a banquet for his brothers in Egypt seems to have been more of an exception than the norm.
The most common meat was fish with both fins and scales. About 18 species of fish live in the Sea of Galilee. The largest type of barbel can grow to 30 inches and 15 pounds. Tilapia and sardines are the fish from the lake that, even today, are commonly eaten. For more auspicious occasions when an animal was slaughtered, the meats included beef, lamb, goat and poultry.
Is Eating Meat A Sin
A sin is an act against Gods will. Original Sin is inherited from Adam and Eve, while personal sins belong to individual Christians alone. Breaking Gods commandments are considered sinful but there remains disagreement about what acts or omissions are considered sinful.
Most people of faith do not believe that eating meat is a sin, though there is an increasing number of Christians who think that being vegan not only brings them closer to God, it brings us all closer to the Peaceable Kingdom that is prophesied in Isaiah.
Christan philosopher, Simon Kittle seeks to remind us that many of our beliefs about animals stem not from the Bible but from cultural habit, and if we recognise that, it might enable us to evaluate honestly the violence we are now implicated in, not so that we can condemn ourselves or be condemned by others but so that we can turn from it, and join with God in seeking that Peaceable Kingdom. As we read the Bible, our prayer should be that God would deliver us from the evil of causing unnecessary violence to animals.
Don’t Miss: Bible Verses On Solitude
What It Means When People Eat Together
Eating is more than the consumption of food. People bond over meals. When you eat with someone, it says you are friends and that you share a common bond.
Eating with family and friends multiplies the enjoyment of eating. Even Jesus loved eating with people including sinners and tax collectors.
Business deals are known to be made over a shared meal.
The Bible’s Stance On Eating Meat May Surprise You
Q: I have an ongoing problem because I’m living as a hypocrite. I’m an animal lover but I eat meat. I don’t eat veal or lamb because they are from young animals, but I eat meat, fish, fowl and eggs. Is there anything in the Bible that refers to this or to Christ’s personal practice? Did Jesus eat meat? I’m aware that I’m looking for absolution for eating meat, but I can’t get rid of this conflict in my mind. As I say, it is hypocritical. I would never hunt or fish, but I eat what someone else kills to put meat on my table. Is killing and eating animals a sin in the eyes of God or Jesus? What would Jesus have said? — From L
P.S. I contribute to many animal groups, especially to help farm animals and to ban dog racing, etc., but it doesn’t erase the guilt.
A: In Genesis 1:29 God speaks to Adam,
“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb-bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed to you it shall be for food.”
In the second chapter of Genesis vegetarianism is re-affirmed as people’s spiritually proper diet. However, one tree in the Garden of Eden bore forbidden fruit,
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
You May Like: Chronological Order Of Old Testament Books
What Makes Man Unclean
In Mark 7:18-19, Jesus was teaching His disciples. He said, Dont you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him unclean? For it doesnt go into his heart but into his stomach and then out of his body. Mark adds in saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.
In Acts 10 when God was preparing Peter to present the Gospel to the Gentiles, He gave Peter a vision. A sheet full of unclean animals came down from heaven and voice said kill and eat, but Peter said he couldnt because he had never eaten anything unclean. Gods answer to him was in Acts 10:15 do not call anything impure that God has made clean.
In 1 Corinthians 8:8, Paul talks about eating food that has been offered to idols, and says that food doesnt bring us near to God therefore, we are no worse if we dont eat, and no better if we do. Paul goes on to explain that the most important thing is our conscience. If we have a clear conscience when we eat food then it is alright to eat it, but he gives a warning.
Bacon Gets The Green Light
As Peter was talking, the Holy Spirit fell on everyone who was listening in and around the house. As they spoke in other tongues , Peter and the friends who came with him were absolutely flabbergasted. How could the Holy Spirit come upon Gentiles?!
But Peter quickly recognized what was going on, and he commanded everyone to be baptized just as he was. It was a very happy time in Cornelius house.
So, we go back to the question of what the giant sheet coming down from heaven and the beautiful day of salvation at Cornelius house have to do with each other. How are they related?
God erased His old dietary rules and pointed out that everything He has cleansed cannot be called common or unholy. He illustrated for Peter what He meant at Cornelius house. It was absolutely essential that Peter understood the old rules were gone.
When we accept Jesus into our hearts, He spiritually cleanses us through the Holy Spirit and the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross. God was telling Peter that spiritual cleansing was not reserved only for the Jews anymore. It is now for anyone who wants it. There are no more lines separating Jews and Gentiles as far as receiving Gods blessing. Or anything else.
Gentiles are no longer common. We have been sanctified through Jesus Christ. The Jews, symbolized by the clean animals in Peters vision, are now united with Gentiles, symbolized by the unclean animals. We are all united within the body of Christ.
Read Also: Pray Without Ceasing Means
What The Bible Says About Eating
As most people know, people must eat to keep living. The Bible says a lot about eating and food. God created food to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. He richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment including food, according to 1 Timothy 4:3 6:17.
The Bible is loaded with references about food from Genesis to Revelation. Food was involved when the serpent tempted the woman to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden. Food is mentioned 90 times in the Gospels. Eating is mentioned at least 109 times.
Food Was Used As A Blessing By The Lord
7. Exodus 16:12 I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Tell them, During the evening you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be satisfied with bread, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’
8. Exodus 16:8 Moses also said, You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD.
Read Also: Infallible Vs Inerrant
Meats That Are Not Good To Eat
Unclean Land Animals
Armadillo – Ass – Badger – Bear – Beaver – Boar – Camel – Cat – Cheetah – Coyote – Dog – Donkey – Elephant – Fox – Gorilla – Groundhog – Hare – Hippopotamus – Horse – Hyena
Jackal – Kangaroo – Leopard – Lion – Llama – Mole – Monkey – Mouse – Mule – Muskrat – Onager – Opossum – Panther – Peccary – Pig – Porcupine
Rabbit – Raccoon – Rat – Rhinoceros – Skunk – Slug – Snail – Squirrel – Tiger – Wallaby – Weasel – Wolf – Wolverine – Worm – Zebra
Unclean Birds
Albatross – Bat – Bittern – Buzzard – Condor – Coot – Cormorant – Crane – Crow – Cuckoo – Eagle – Flamingo – Grebe – Grosbeak – Gull – Hawk – Heron – Kite – Lapwing – Loon – Magpie
Osprey – Ostrich – Owl – Parrot – Pelican – Penguin – Plover – Rail – Raven – Roadrunner- Sandpiper – Seagull – Stork – Swallow – Swift – Vulture – Water Hen – Woodpecker
Unclean Insects
Was Jesus A Vegetarian
No. This is a fact since we have Biblical evidence of him eating fish, including after the resurrection in Luke 24:42-43, in which he ate broiled fish to prove he was real and not a ghost.
In Matthew 14:17-21, he also fed the crowds with fish and the bread he multiplied. Some have argued this would be unusual for Jesus to do if he was vegetarian, because why would he give people fish if he didnt eat it himself?
That is a valid point, though it wouldnt necessarily be unusual. Today, many vegans and vegetarians are more than happy to feed their house guests eggs and meat even if they dont personally eat them. It would be silly to say that every food you serve someone, is a food you have to like and eat yourself.
Plus if you pay careful attention to the wording in Matthew 14, you will see the fish is only mentioned at the beginning, as to the limited quantity of food they had on hand . After that, fish is never mentioned, and its leftover baskets of bread that are collected . The fish might not have even been multiplied for the crowd.
However this is all a moot point because even setting that debate aside, the bottom line is that we know Jesus ate fish after the resurrection. There are other scenarios too where one can at least make a reasonable assumption he was eating fish, along with others in his presence who were eating them. Therefore, Jesus was not a vegetarian or vegan given the fact that he ate fish.
You May Like: How Many Psalms Are There