Heart-Healthy
This is not a nutritional TED talk. Unless, like me, you really enjoy carbs…to the detriment of your vegetable intake. In that case you might feel a little preached at. Hear me out.
Thanks to a diet-recall exercise for my nutrition class I have become acutely aware that I love carbs. What can I say, cereal is my comfort food. Also, bagels were a fantastic invention. For this project I was instructed to record all the food I ate in 48 hours and compare it to current dietary recommendations. I found that, in general, I do a great job of keeping out the bad. Limiting bad fats, sodium, and added sugars can be fairly straightforward. What I struggle with is adding in the healthy stuff. Before my mom reads this, yes I eat my fruits and veggies. But not nearly enough…and often more fruits than veggies. While I was prioritizing a healthy diet, I was too focused on keeping the bad out. Part of eating nutritiously involves adding in foods that provide needed vitamins and nutrients (especially vegetables). Sure, some benefits come from these restrictions, but without certain foods I lose out on the wholistic benefits of nutrition.
This is a dietary habit that mirrors aspects of my spiritual life. Luke 7 presents a story in which Jesus visits the house of a pharisee named Simon. While there, a wayward woman washes Jesus’ feet with her tears and finds acceptance in His forgiveness, despite the judgement of her host. While listening to a recent sermon on these passages, I was surprised to realize I found the character of Simon most relatable. He, like many pharisees, practiced restrictive spirituality. They formed law after law to make sure they avoided sin. Simon knew the law by heart and outwardly his life was the epitome of obedience and perfection. (How often do we comply with the expectations of society only because we know others are watching?) Yet his actions toward Jesus and the woman reflected a heart lacking essential nutrients, especially love.
John Burke presents the idea of focusing on the “mud versus the masterpiece.” Are we fixating on the mud, sin, that needs to be avoided or on the masterpiece that God desires to create in our lives through His grace? The Pharisees were so intent on keeping the mud off that they missed the heart transformation offered through a real relationship with Jesus.
“The Pharisees prided themselves in mud avoidance.”
However, God calls us to do more than be without sin. The fruits of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, patience, and goodness are added to us when we are truly in Christ. God asks us to love our enemies, to be kind, self-sacrificing, truthful. These are “spiritual veggies”. This is not a free pass to eat all the sugar you want, self-control is still a fundamental principle (and a fruit of the spirit itself). But if you want all the health, add in the veggies.
Yes, a life in Christ may mean removing certain things that need to go. But how are you actively being changed and living out your relationship with Him? Are you growing in patience, selflessness, honesty, and love? Do you go out of your way to listen to others, to accept them, to offer assistance? Jesus wants to change our hearts if we will let Him. We don’t have to plant and harvest these fruits of the Spirit alone. We make space for God to develop them in us, ask Him to teach us to live them out in our daily interactions, and then trust that He is changing us little by little. This is the real secret to a spiritually heart-healthy diet.
Here is a link to the sermon by Gary Thurber for those who want to listen (start at 26:05).
