More than a cheeseburger

It's Saturday and DW is on duty, so I went to the Farmer's Market this morning and availed myself of the bounty of the cool and wet summer we are enjoying here in Deep Southern Illinois. As I stood at the counter slicing cucumbers and onions, I was listening to the radio - unusual for me as I usually bask in the quiet when I am home alone.

As I listened to the weekend edition of Focus on the Family, a man (sorry folks, I didn't catch his name) was talking about healthy eating and exercise (two of my least favorite topics). He gave some interesting information about the way food products are developed, so interesting in fact that I may try to track down his name and book on the Focus web site, but what really impacted me had more to do with the way I view healthy eating and exercise (see parenthetical note above).

From his perspective, our eating and exercise habits are acts of worship. We eat healthy foods and engage in exercise because our bodies don't belong to us - they belong to the FATHER, and he needs bodies that are able to work, bodies with sufficient energy and clarity of thought to complete the tasks he sets before us. Just as his children avoid other things that hurt our minds, our hearts and our relationships (porn, illicit sexual relationships, gossip, lying, drunkeness, etc.), they should avoid eating habits that harm the body that Christ purchased with his own blood.

Radical thinking, eh?

It's not about how I look. It's about how I function. God doesn't care what size I wear, but he does care if my habits hurt me.

I look Daniel and his friends - in spite of having the most delectable things in the world available, they chose to eat fruits and vegetables, and they looked better and thought better than any of the other young men that the king had chosen.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't think it is a sin to eat the occasional cheeseburger or ice cream sundae.  But after hearing this guy speak, I also think that my attitudes about eating and exercise could use some work. I think maybe I'll start with what I bought at the market this morning.