One simple step we can take to drastically clean up evangelicalism is to take how much we care about what we eat, and start caring about how we feed our souls at least a quarter as much.
But first, a word. Taking care of your body is good, idolatry is not. Burdening people with extrabiblical law is abominable. If you think the devastating effects of gluten are worse than the effects of sin, or that diet/exercise can overcome the curse of Genesis 3, you've got a huge problem.
Anyway, maybe you've seen this play out. Someone posts on Facebook about his latest dietary hobby horse, then not long after shares some 'inspirational' babble from Joyce Meyer or Tony Jones. Point out the foolish inconsistency of caring so much about what he eats while so casually imbibing spiritual poison at your own risk.
I'm not calling for everyone to give up eating well - though for some this is no doubt an idol requiring repentance. Nor am I suggesting everyone become discernment bloggers with the word "heretic" always at the ready. All I'm suggesting is, if you wouldn't eat an Arsenic Bar (now with real hemlock!), you shouldn't fill your mind with the spiritual equivalent. For example:
If you won't eat any food with artificial colors, but read and share the artificial Jesus quotes from Jesus Calling, you've got a problem.
If you throw a conniption over a picogram of gluten, but swallow prosperity teaching by the bucketful, there's a problem.
If you judge people who take their kids to McDonalds, but go to a church where the Biblical teaching is shallower than VeggieTales, you have seriously skewed priorities.
If you make fun of someone else's poor diet, while attending a church that serves up a weekly dose of cotton candy (think "life tips" with a verse or two to 'sanctify' it), it's time to grow up, on both counts, actually.
If you won't dare eat anything that isn't certified 100% pure organic all-natural, but gladly consume and promote a foreign gospel, like the modalist/prosperity sludge of TD Jakes, the word-faith tyranny of Joel Osteen, the "it's all about ME!" narcissism of Steven Furtick, or, well, pretty much anything on TBN, there's an issue. And you have no one to blame but yourself.
14 hours ago
3 comments:
Seems applicable:
1 Timothy 4:8(NKJV)
8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
I'd probably take this a little bit further than you have because of personal experience. One of the members at our old church actually wrote us a letter invoking Matthew 18 to confront us about feeding our autistic son foods that may have dyes in them and other types of ingredients that aren't fresh, home-grown style foods. I found myself torn between laughter, sadness, and anger over the whole matter. My wife wound up calling the lady and talked things out the best she could, but there has always been some awkwardness with that since. Food becomes an idol and a path to legalism with people who are so caught up in it. And you don't need a false teacher around to quote for it to be that way. It is amazing to me how prevalent this has become these days...very sad.
Which way to the Twinkies and Diet Mountain Dew?
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