Hammer on Anvil '

Oswald Chambers, in his classic My Utmost for His Highest, says that God's honor is at stake in our bodily lives. Not just our spiritual lives, but our bodily lives.

My husband, John, and I have become more health conscious over the years, and have taken time to educate ourselves about what we put into our bodies. Our son and his wife realize this, and do what they can to accommodate us when we are there for dinner.

For example, a summer favorite at many barbecues is hot dogs. Because John and I prefer to avoid "mechanically separated meat," Josh and Bethany graciously serve turkey hot dogs as an alternative.

According to naturalnews.com, mechanically separated meat "is collected from animal carcasses after all the prime cuts of muscle have been removed. In order to not waste the meat scraps still clinging to the bone, slaughterhouses remove the meat either by scraping, pressing or shaving the scraps off the bone, or by simply blasting it with pressurized air or water. The meat comes off in a reddish slurry, which is then mixed into low-grade meat products such as hot dogs and lunchmeat in order to bulk them up."

Hungry yet? Hot dogs are also loaded with sodium nitrite, and some now include what used to be called MSG. Now it is disguised with the labeling "autolyzed yeast." I just don't see the point in eating stuff like that when I can get organic turkey hot dogs with ingredients I can actually pronounce.

In our decades of gathering with other Christians for various occasions, my husband and I have noticed a disturbing dynamic. Not everyone at these gatherings seems to appreciate that we make healthier choices. It seems as long as the food you eat is "blessed," the calories and the content don't matter.

The Bible is very clear that we are not to test God. To me it seems monumentally presumptuous to assume you can make unhealthy, unwise choices (about your diet or anything else), and expect God to bail you out. His grace is amazing and far-reaching, yes -- but He expects us to use the brains He has given us.

It is a wondrous truth (as well as a serious responsibility) that our bodies are the very temple of the Holy Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:19). God expects us to care for His temple and be judicious in our treatment of it. Paul says, "I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should" (1 Corinthians 9:27). In the food arena, that means not only being careful about what we eat, but how much we eat. In Christian circles, I hear a lot about how you shouldn't smoke or drink alcohol, but I rarely hear about the sin of gluttony. It is one of the seven deadly sins, serious enough that Proverbs 23:2 says, "Put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony." God has convicted me about this sin in my own life, and I am taking positive steps to take off the extra pounds and be healthier.

I must confess that I am weary of getting lambasted -- often by Christian brothers and sisters -- for doing what I feel like God has called me to do. I don't judge them for eating junk food, so why should I be judged for preferring to eat healthy? It's as if when you start getting serious about honoring God in every aspect of your life, people feel compelled to remind you to exercise "moderation in all things." Such irony -- to eschew moderation with regard to one's habits, but to embrace moderation when it comes to how seriously we follow our Savior.