I think our bodies are miraculous. Really. We take for granted, or don't even know, all of the chemical reactions that take place every second so our bodies can move, breathe, think, feel and much more. I really is very amazing.
I think food is miraculous. Take an orange for example. there is a hard outer peel for protection, a white pithy covering to hold in moisture, then there are sections that create themselves with thin membranes, then within each section there are tiny membraned droplets of juice. When an orange is peeled, there is an orange smell and when those tiny membraned droplets are burst juice sprays - and it's sweet! That's just an orange, I won't even get into raspberries and peas and watermelon!
I think how the food and the body need each other are completely divine! So when the Lord says: "all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man" I really believe Him!
He also said: "Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving." Most definately thanksgiving, and not just saying a trite prayer for every meal, but real thanksgiving and understanding that Heavenly Father made food so that you can function.
Here is the definition of prudence: the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. This is why I think treating your body and what you eat is a moral decision. It takes great discipline to do this, especially when we have all foods available to us all the time, at least in our country. Because it is so ready available, and viewed as a treat in many instances, we think we deserve as much food as we want. Which is not prudent when we view food in light of nuturing our body. I'm guilty of it too. It is a hard thing and issues with food are not really catagorized with transgressions such as murder, so the issue as a moral decision is not really discussed. But I believe it has a huge effect on how we feel and how we feel about ourselves. Not just how we feel about ourselves physically, but how we feel about our abilities to control ourselves, which translates to what kind of a person we think we are.
Well, I could go on and on. I will tomorrow.
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Wow Lisa - this is really profound! No, I mean it. I sometimes have a good relationship with food but most times I'm negligent in how I eat. I always think I eat healthily but then I review all the cookies or candy I stuff in and think, hmmmmm ... not the wisest choices. Just because of your thoughts on this blog I'm going to try harder to be nice to my body by eating healthier. I love ya!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reminder. I tend to forget about the food side of The Word of Wisdom. I am trying to eat foods in season lately and have discovered that a)it tastes better and b) it is cheaper. :) I attended an enrichment once where the lady talked about how she and her husband stopped eating meat except in the winter and still sparingly then. She had some book that backed up that diet too. We do need to try to eat meat more sparingly but I'm not sure I can give up bbq in the summer completely. And Matt's just so picky! :)
ReplyDeleteI think another important part of the word of wisdom is that it is slightly different for everyone- meaning a diabetic should eat a diabetic diet to be healthy, a celiac shouldn't eat wheat... Those are extreme and obvious examples but each of us is sensitive to different things and we should listen to our bodies and how they respond to different foods. I really need to be better at this.