I was alive when it was okay to smoke. The research that proved it was killing us was on a distant horizon that I could ignore. To pick up a cigarette today, with the research in the mainstream, would be complete idiocy. I'm not talking about current smokers. You have a huge hurdle before you and I would just encourage you to battle that addiction any way you can. But to start smoking knowing what we know...
I think the same thing is true with our American/Western eating lifestyle. The research is clear, but it is on a distant horizon that is easy to ignore. Because the preponderance of our culture revolves around meat, eggs and dairy (restaurant commercials and menus, the hammering-into-our-heads that we need sufficient [animal] protein, and the cultural draw of grilling, sizzle, and sharing meals with friends that always include these items), it becomes a swimming-upstream proposition to read the research, ingest it and take steps to embrace it in a new lifestyle.
Romans 12:
Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out.Maybe God is saying He understands the seduction and power of culture, even when it presents untruths. According to Romans 12, we can place our eating before Him, fix our attention on Him and see where it leads.
In my twenties, my husband-to-be gave an ultimatum: choose him or the cigarettes. Choosing the latter would have probably killed me and I would have missed out on my three exquisite children. God knew that when all else failed, the ultimatum would move me.
If something is resonating deeply inside you about these food remarks--but the opposition rises hugely within you--do not be alarmed.
When all else fails, put your eating before God and let Him lead you to safety.
