The Diet Of The Bible

[JCPenny]

God is a good God and has promised us the blessing of enjoying the good food that He has created. Psalm 22:26: "The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever."
It is only when we abuse our bodies through overeating or wrong eating that is wrong. Some people become very defensive over the issue that we should bring God to the table. They want to eat as they please, however as Christians we must bring the Lord into this area of our life as well as every other area. Remember the first sin in the Bible that led to all of mankind's downfall was when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate something they were told not to eat (Genesis 3). This certainly was a seemingly little thing that caused sin to enter into the world. The real problem was the disobedience to God. We should ask the Lord to help us in this area if we are struggling with this problem. Although I can't address the answer to our eating habits in this article I will list a few things that we should do that will help us lose weight and overcome gluttony. One note though, you do not have to be overweight to commit the sin of gluttony. If you lust after food it is a sin..

(1.) EAT GOD'S APPROVED FOODS LISTED IN THE BIBLE:

A good guideline would be to eat "living foods." The natural, living foods are fresh vegetables, fruits, grains, meats and dairy products. The "dead foods" are those that are highly refined. They not only are expensive, but also in most instances do little to nourish. Many people are tired, run down and sick because a large part of their diets are made up of dead junk foods. We want to include at least an outline of some of God's approved foods to help people get started on the road to proper eating. Although this list is not complete, it does give the basic foods that the Bible lists as good to eat:

Barley---Ruth 2:23 
Bread---Luke 22:19
Butter---Isaiah 7:22
Corn---Ruth 2:14; I Samuel 17:17
Cheese---I Samuel 17:18
Dates---Genesis 3:2
Eggs---Job 6:6
Figs---Numbers 13:23; I Samuel 25:18
Fruits(All)---Genesis 1:29
Herbs (Leafy Plants) and Vegetables---Genesis 1:29
Honey---Deuteronomy 8:8
Meats---(Beef, Fish,Lamb,Poultry,Venison) Deuteronomy 14; Leviticus 11
Milk---Isaiah 7:21-22
Nuts---Genesis 43:11
Olives and Olive Oil---Leviticus 2:4; Deuteronomy 8:8
Salt---Leviticus 2:13
Wheat (Bread, Cereal, Pasta)---Psalm 81:16

(2.) EAT IN MODERATION:
Ask the Lord to help you eat the proper amount of food. Eat only until full. He will help you. He loves you and cares about you. Philippians 4:5: "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand."

(3.) GET REGULAR MILD EXERCISE: Walking is an excellent form of exercise.

(4.) FAST PERIODICALLY: Fasting helps cleanse the body of toxins that can lead to sickness.

As we seek the Lord in regard to our diets, He will gladly lead us in the right path. We must not get out of balance in this area and let menus and cooking absorb an exorbitant amount of time since this would be just as bad as ignoring diet altogether and eating anything we want. Here is a good verse to claim as we set our heart to overcome gluttony and the tendency to allow the enemy to tempt us little by little to fall into the trap of overeating.

Psalm 141:3-4: "Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. 4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties"

This article was taken from the Overcoming Life Digest (July/August 1999 Issue).