What Would Jesus Eat?

We are all facing a subtle yet prevalent deception when it comes to the foods that we eat. Daily we are bombarded with messages from various sources (healthcare experts, the government, and even superstars) telling us what we should be eating.  There are so many conflicting messages about this that it leaves us either always looking for the next big diet trend or so confused about food that we throw in the towel and just eat whatever makes us feel good.  This deception has led to a healthcare crisis in this country like nothing we have experienced before, and if we don’t do something now it’s only going to get worse. Now is the time for believers to become united under one common motto: “what would Jesus eat?”

In the last few years, several documentaries have aired trying to shed light on the food deception that we are facing.  Two such films are “Fed-Up” with Katie Couric and “In Defense of Food” with Michael Pollan, who authored a book by the same name. These films help individuals to see the truth about the misleading and misguided advice we have been given about healthy food choices.  Both of these documentaries are great in terms of telling the facts: we need to cut out processed foods from our diets, we need to eat more plant based foods, and in general we need to eat less. Those are the basic facts, and if we take these simple steps we will be taking a step in the right direction in improving our health.  But there is a major component that is missing in these films, and that is God’s truth, His Word. The fact is, we can be taught how to make healthy food choices, but the truth is that without bringing God into our food choices and into our attempt to live a healthy lifestyle, we will be unsuccessful in any attempt to make permanent changes to our diets.  

Food is a gift from God and it was created to be received with thanksgiving (I Timothy 4:3) and it was richly provided to us (as was everything) for our enjoyment (I Timothy 6:17).  If we don’t understand this purpose of food, the result will be abuse (food addiction) and failure (maintaining our health) when it comes to food choices. As believers we need to realize that we are abusing food when we are not eating in a way that brings glory to God.  As followers of Christ we need to ask ourselves daily, “what would Jesus eat?” when making our food choices. By this I mean, would the food that you are considering putting in your body be a food that Jesus would want to put in His body to glorify God? We have to remind ourselves that all Jesus did brought glory to God.  We can do the same thing when we make our food choices. We can glorify God by choosing to eat foods that He created for our enjoyment, foods that will bring benefits to our bodies instead of foods that could bring sickness or disease. This may not be easy at first because temptation is real and so is sugar addiction, but when we eat or drink all to the glory of God (I Corinthians 10:31) then we can allow God to supernaturally strengthen us and help us to overcome.  

The Truth in Action:  Making small changes can go a long way in producing positive health results.  When making food choices keep asking yourself, “what would Jesus eat?” You can also consider these questions when making food choices:

1. Did God create this food?  Is it in its recognizable natural state or has it been refined/processed?
2. Does the food have more than three ingredients?
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to healthy food choices and to give you the desire to eat foods that will bring God glory.   

Meditate on Scripture: Ezekiel 4:9 (NKJV) – “Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself.”

• In this Scripture God has given us a list of foods that He wants us to eat.  In addition, this is a recipe for bread, and there is actually a bread that you can buy in the supermarket called Ezekiel 4:9 that uses this exact recipe given by God.  It can be found in the frozen food section.