BY DR. STEVE FRIEND
Your body is a reflection of your lifestyle
It’s an hour before lunch, your child opens a bag of chips and starts eating one, you yell, “DON’T eat that, it will RUIN your APPETITE!” How many of us recall hearing these very words from our parents as we reflect on our childhood? Or, maybe you’re one of the unfortunate ones whose parents didn’t really care what you ate or when you ate it.
As parents, one of the most important things we can do for our children is to train them how to control their appetite. Recently, while out of town on a business trip, sitting in a motel room, I turned on the TV to watch the news and came across a program that shocked me!
The title, you ask? “My 600lb life!” I was mortified as I watched and listened to the featured individuals tell their stories of how, over the years and due to life’s unpredictable circumstances, they lost control of their appetite and ended up in such a profound state of existence. Weighing in at more than 600lbs, these individuals were completely incapacitated, confined to bed, unable to even roll themselves over without assistance. According to their bariatric surgeon they had reached critical mass and surgical intervention was their only hope! How sad, but was surgery really their only option?
Of course, these are extreme examples of appetite gone awry. However, it’s only a matter of overindulging the appetite a few calories a day and weight gain is inevitable! Consider eating 100 calories a day above your daily energy requirements (about 2000 calories for an adult female and 2500 calories for a male) and you will gain 10lbs in one year. Continue this trend for 10 years and you will gain 100lbs!
But no one wakes up in the morning and is suddenly obese! It’s a consequence of being sedentary and eating (or drinking) too many calories per day one bite at a time.
APPETITE is a natural desire to satisfy a bodily need. Unfortunately, an unhealthy appetite also leads to an unhealthy spiritual appetite and vice versa. Unless you were taught to develop healthy eating habits in childhood, craving the wrong foods at the wrong time was the order of the day.
Search scripture and you will find many examples of Bible “heroes” who succumbed to cravings that ruined their spiritual appetite. Take Samson, a vowed Nazarite. He drank alcohol, ate honey from the carcass of a dead lion and God took away His Holy Spirit. Esau traded his birthright for a bowl of stew then became so angry with the consequence of his action that he vowed to kill his own brother! The ultimate example of ruining one’s spiritual appetite? Adam and Eve—only God knows the full ramifications of this dynamic duo’s dietary indiscretion.
We see that appetite was a real problem in old testament time, but how about in modern culture? According to the CDC more than one-third (36.5%) of U.S. adults have obesity, and the number 1 killer, heart disease, is obesity related. Obviously, there are many other obesity-related health conditions for concern.
That’s the bad news, but there’s GOOD NEWS! We have the answer to this health crisis and it’s time to act. Simply share the undiluted HEALTH MESSAGE with everyone you see and invite them to our health events! It’s no coincidence the spirit of prophecy advocates proclaiming the right arm of the gospel simultaneously with the message of the 3 angels.
Jesus knew the importance of linking the gospel and the health message together. People are drawn to Jesus when they see Him suffer on the cross AND when they themselves are healed from suffering. It’s fascinating to look at the life of Christ and notice something amazing. Jesus did more HEALING than teaching and preaching!
The health message is a message of healing. Let’s copy His example and come together as the body of Christ and re-ignite our passion for the right arm of the gospel! We will be changed and in turn others will be healed.