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Past Thought for the week messages Man's wisdom versus the foolishness of God
Past Thought for the week messages Man's wisdom versus the foolishness of God | Man's wisdom versus the foolishness of God |
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In Isaiah 55:9 we read: For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. In Proverbs 14:12 we read: There is a way that seems right to man, but it is a way of death. We can apply these Scriptures to all manner of situations, and in the great scheme of things dieting, I guess, comes pretty low down the list. Nevertheless the general principle holds true: that man, in his natural wisdom, can (and usually does) end up in a mess! So when it comes to losing weight our knowledge of body chemistry tells us that if we simply cup down on the number of calories going into our bodies so that it is in deficit to the calories being expended, then we will shed the pounds. True! And if we want to shed the pounds faster then all we need to do is starve our bodies even more and we will get a faster result. Wrong! Diets have been based on this principle for years and yet now the experts are saying that dieting can actually damage your health. Why? Because (1) Our bodies, when deprived of food, go into ‘diet mode’ and hang on to our fat, meaning that at least some of the weight lost is muscle tissue, not fat, which is bad news in lots of ways.(2) Changes in our bodies’ metabolism through dieting cause rapid regain of weight once dieting is over (3) Yo-yo dieting puts a strain on our hearts and leaves us at a greater risk of contracting cardio-vascular diseases than we would have been staying at a steadily maintained higher weight. That’s man’s wisdom! Specific diet techniques major on certain dietary restrictions. During the 1980s and 1990s Low Fat was all the rage. Fat has double the amount of calories per gram as either carbohydrates or protein - fact. Therefore, man’s wisdom decreed: cut out the fats and you won’t get fat! Interestingly, however, although statistics showed that the percentage of fat intake was decreasing throughout the 80s and 90s, ironically average weight and the number of heart attacks increased! Why? People were simply eating bigger portions! Well, nutrition has come on apace over the last twenty years and we now know that whilst too much saturated fat and hydrogenated fats are detrimental to health, some fat in the form of mono-unsaturated fats and poly-unsaturated fats are beneficial. Also there are certain ‘essential fatty acids’ which our body needs in order to thrive and these can only be obtained from eating certain foods or taking supplements. Fat provides energy if blood sugar supplies run out (after 4-6 hours without food); it is needed to prevent essential fatty acid deficiency and to help your body absorb the fat soluble vitamins A, S, E, K, and prevent deficiencies of these vitamins. Fat provides flavour and texture thus helping prevent food from being bland, dry and unappetising. Fat helps food to stay in the stomach longer, giving a greater sense of satisfaction and preventing hunger soon after meals. It may also help your body produce endorphins (natural substances in the brain that produce pleasurable feelings). It is now thoughts that diets too low in fat (less than 20 - 25%) may actually trigger cravings. In addition to all this, fat provides insulation under the skin from the cold and the heat; it protects organs and bones from shock, provides support for organs and it surrounds and insulates nerve fibres to help transmit nerve impulses. In fact, fat is part of every cell membrane in the body, helping to transport nutrients across cell membranes. Your body uses fat to make a variety of other building blocks needed for everything from hormones to our immune function. Yes, your body needs fat!! It doesn’t need the man-made substitutes of ‘hydrogenated fats’ or ‘ trans-fats,’ and it is wise to limit the amount of saturated fat, but it cannot do without the good fat such as that contained in olive oil and foods like cold water fish, nuts, seeds and dark green leafy vegetables. In the late 90s and into the 21st century opinions regarding dieting changed and Atkins was all the rage. The pendulum completely swung the opposite direction and we were told to cut out almost all carbohydrates and eat as much fat and protein as we liked! People did lose weight on this diet, but since Atkins limited the intake on indisputely healthy foods like fruit, vegetables and fibre whilst placing no restriction on the intake of saturated fats, nutritionists have been almost universally appalled by it. Well, praise God, at least the trend today is to ditch faddy diets and eat healthily. But then we fall into the trap of becoming obsessed about what is and isn’t safe to eat; we get confused by conflicting messages; we resent the ‘nanny state’ telling us what and what not to eat. We find in the end that although we try to eat healthily all the joy and satisfaction of eating has gone and whenever we allow anything considered to be taboo to pass our lips we are riddled with guilt! Man’s wisdom whilst seeking to promote sound health principles could well end up being self-defeating. God has given us all things richly to enjoy; He says that nothing is to be refused if it is received with prayer and thanksgiving. When we have a Spirit-controlled appetite we won’t over-indulge; we will endeavour to feed our body the nutrients it needs for good health and we won’t look to food to try and fulfil needs in our lives that food was never intended to meet. James, the apostle writes: If any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5) Yield to God and let the Holy Spirit guide you in your eating. Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. Fit For Life Forever is dedicated to helping you work this out. The book, ‘How to Stop Dieting and Start Living’ is a must read and the ebook course will help you apply the principles in a systematic way. The daily ‘Food for Thought’ (part of the course and similar to these Thoughts for the Week) will provide spiritual food so that you feed on the wisdom of God’s Word. So wise up! When God created all the wonderful rich variety of food we have available today He said it was ‘good’. Let scientists say what they will - God didn't create junk! So eat as naturally as you can and let Him have the final word!
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