Introduction: Healthy Blood through Moderate Eating
It's not merely WHAT we eat — but also how much
What does moderation and healthy blood have in common? To answer that, we need to consider the importance and function of blood.
A serious wound to the artery could cause a person to bleed out and die in under a minute. But blood does more than keep us alive; it also keeps us healthy and functioning properly by God's design. And unhealthy blood, produces unhealthy bodies.
The life of the flesh is in the blood, Leviticus 17:11 tells us.
This is the foundation for the 7 Biblical Principles of Living Under God's design: The life of the flesh is in the blood. So far we have considered:
And now the next three principles (5-7) will talk about one topic: FOOD.
Principle 5 is Healthy Blood through Moderate Eating
Principle 6 is Healthy Blood through Real Food
Principle 7 is Healthy Blood through Pure Food
You might ask why we should spend three out of four of the biblical principles talking about food in the Bible. After all, are there not more important subjects to discuss?
For salvation, yes.
Humans Are a Unity
But God doesn't care only about the salvation of our souls; He cares about our physical bodies as well. We are a whole person, a complete unit, created in a physical universe that God declared VERY GOOD before the fall. But the fall did nothing to destroy the goodness of God's creation; it only brought a curse upon it. And now the creation itself groans, Paul tells us in Romans 8:22, wishing to be free from the curse.
As Christians, we are not to let the thorns and thistles take over God's world! We are to fight against the results of the curse, bringing all things into subjection to Christ, taking every thought, idea, realm, and philosophy captive to the obedience of Christ. This includes the subject of food.
Food is the physical sustenance that God has created to nourish our physical bodies. In fact, God often uses food as a metaphor for spiritual life. Read 12 of the Greatest Metaphors in the Bible to learn more.
Not only is food used as a metaphor for life, it has also been the cause of the rise and fall of many. It has been at the center of controversy from the earliest of times of life on this earth. And it remains so to this day.
In fact, vast changes in human existence have occurred as a result of the consumption of food. Can you think of any?
Over the next several installments in this series, we will consider 10 important historical developments and/or noteworthy events that have occurred over a simple bite (or two) of food.
Next: The Bite of Food that Sealed the Fate of Mankind
Return to: Biblical Health Study