I was recently lamenting the fact that so many of my friends, family and acquaintances have what I consider an unnatural obsession with food, bodies, and “health.” Another friend commented that the ultra-specific, restrictive diets that have become all the rage are an attempt at obtaining righteousness apart from Christ. While I definitely agree with this, another thought also occurred to me.
Some of the people I know fixate not only on “eating healthy” but on other aspects of health and nutrition. Some examples: Eating only organic produce, grass-fed beef, and free-range chicken/eggs; eliminating entire categories of food, regardless of allergy (e.g., grains); spotting and avoiding “allergens” everywhere; non-vaccination; high doses of vitamins; avoidance of “allopathic” medicine; and the list goes on.
It isn’t really what people choose to do or not do that bothers me. People are free to choose as they wish. What bothers me is the attitude behind it. I can recall one incident when I was a teen. I had a friend over for dinner. When I reached for a second serving of dinner, this friend asked me, rather rudely, if I thought I really “needed” to eat any more. This friend now herself, as an adult, has a strange obsession with health and her body. But even then, it was clear that she had learned to pass judgment on others for their choices.
What finally dawned on me is that I believe people, even Christians, fear not only death but their own bodies. Any number of things could be causing such widespread fear, but there is no question of its presence. This saddens me. I do not believe that anyone who lives with fear in his or her heart can possibly ever experience true joy. I don’t even mean happiness, although I think people can intentionally deprive themselves of this, too. But real, pure, unadulterated joy, flowing from the Father to us and through us can only be felt when we empty ourselves of our burdens. It is a lie that we will have a better life if we eat or live in a certain “healthy” way. No doubt, we can cause ourselves grief when we don’t care at all for our bodies. However, it does no good to go to the opposite extreme, either.
Let us stop this death of joy, this death in our hearts, and begin living again–joyfully, in Christ.
~Sela
