Post 31-Did You Know Dag Hammarskjöld...

 John wrote on Tue, Mar 21, 2017 at 4:48 PM

Hey Dana

            I started this at the shore yesterday and then had a problem with my lap top. I lost the email. Sooo,,,,I’ll try again.

            There are two Mallard ducks in the near pond. Usually the Mallards show up in the spring. Blacks Ducks are the frequent winter waterfowl; although I didn’t see many this past winter. One thing that surprised me last winter was we didn't see any Brant geese. Usually they are in the waters around us by the hundreds. A year or so ago there was very large die off on the West Coast of Auks, a sea duck, because of the lack of food. I checked Google but didn't find anything posted about Brant, but something is amiss.

            Did you know Dag Hammarskjöld was a Christian? I recently purchased the book They Were Christians, The Inspiring Faith of Men and Women who Changed the World, by Cristobal Krusen.

https://www.amazon.com/They- Were-Christians-Inspiring- Changed-ebook/dp/B012H1050E    Krusen writes about others such as Louis Pasteur, Frederick Douglass, Florence Nightingale, and John D. Rockefeller Sr. who were also Christian. In his book, published by Baker Books, I am all ready convicted by page 25. Krusen tells how Dag (that is how he is often referred to in this chapter) was not only the secretary-general of the United Nations, but he came from a family of soldiers and politicians on his father's side.

            Krusen writing about Dag Hammarskjöld , "(From the father's side)...I inherited a belief that no life was more satisfactory than one of selfless service to your country--or humanity. This service required a sacrifice of all personal interests...." But from his mother's side, Dag inherited, "...a belief that, in the very radical sense of the Gospels, all men were equals as children of God, and should be met and treated by us as our masters in God." Our masters in God. "...all men were equals as children of God, and should be met and treated by us as our masters in God." I'm not even sure what that means but I am being convicted by it.

            I know that in Philippians 2:3 (NIV) we're told, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves."

            What do you think this means?

John

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Dana responded on Wed, Mar 22, 2017 at 3:05 PM

Good morning, John,

     Whether you intended it or not, I went ahead and treated this letter as a lead in to the next blog, and responded in kind.  Attached is my response. I did find the subject engaging.

     No, I didn’t know that Dag Hammarskjöld was a Christian.  As a kid, I remember having a stamp with his picture on it.  Plus I just thought it was a cool name.  Dag Hammarskjöld, kind of like the Scandinavian equivalent of “James Bond.” I wished my name had been Dag, because when you have a handle like Dana, you cannot imagine in your wildest dreams what a Junior High School Principle from Mayberry can do to it over the school intercom system.  My High School Band Director even called me “Dang,” because he had trouble deciphering my name on account of my poor penmanship (I was born left handed into a right handed world, a hostile right handed one at that.)

     When one contemplates the sorry state of the United Nations today, it causes me to wonder how it might be as an organization, and consequently how effective it might be in the world, if it had a Christian at the helm. It brings on a sense of wistfulness; it really does.

     In the Old Testament especially, the term “the nations” is used frequently to refer to those nations dispossessed by God after the Tower of Babel incident, prior to God crafting His own people by the calling of Abram a chapter later.  “The nations” refer to those nations, hostile to God and to His people Israel.  They worshipped and served other gods (little “g”) and remained at enmity to God until Pentecost, when their reclamation began.  Not that they are exactly fully reclaimed and friendly towards the Gospel now, but we do know that either by salvation or by judgment, they will be under the total domain of Christ one day.  The nations are His inheritance. Psalm 2:8

     Without heading down too deep a rabbit hole with the above, my point is that there are all these so called “important” people, dignitaries, heads of state, movers and shakers meeting in a building that resembles an enormous Ritz Cracker box with lots of windows, trying to exercise enough control to keep “the nations” of the world from destroying each other and the entire world…and in my lifetime, they have failed miserably.  They push for more and more control, seeking to become a kingdom in their own right, not realizing that there is another Kingdom to which they are responsible, and to who’s King they must both answer and bow. “Claiming to be wise, they became fools…” Romans 1:22 a, (ESV) Where’s old Dag when you need him? But I digress….

     You asked, “What do you think this means?”  Would you be referring to the section about the beliefs Dag Hammarskjöld inherited from his family or Philippians 2:3?  Short answer; I think they are intertwined.

     To paraphrase, his belief that all men are equal, but we should treat them as masters [I think] refers to how we should treat others better than ourselves, or to not elevate ourselves above others…which fits quite nicely with the first part of Philippians 2.

     How about a little Greek lesson from Brother Grazier? Don’t worry, it won’t hurt…too bad.

     (All English portions of the Scripture below are ESV unless otherwise stated).

     For reference and context sake, I’ll quote the whole passage in question, Philippians 2:1-11, though we are only looking at a couple of segments of it in particular:

 

     “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (ESV)

 

     Looking at Philippians 2:6:

     “⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped….”

     The word “form” is the Greek word “morphe,” from which we get the word metamorphosis.  Morphe means, “…having the essential set of characteristics that make something what it is.” (Hobart Grazier) 

     Paul is saying in one of the great textual proofs of the divinity of Christ, that Jesus had the morphe of God, or “…the essential set of characteristics that made” God…God. 

     And even though Jesus was/is/will be God in every respect, from all of eternity to all of eternity, yet He didn’t cling to it but, “but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” 

     The word “likeness” in Greek is “schema,” and I love Brother Grazier’s definition of the word; “Schema is a man dressed in a bear suit, or John Wayne dressed up as a cowboy. John Wayne had the morphe of John Wayne, but he had the schema of a cowboy.” (Hobart Grazier)

     To clarify, Jesus had the essential set of characteristics that made God…God (morphe), but He had the schema or likeness of a man.  He was fully God, and He was fully man.  Alistair Begg says, “There was a time when Jesus was not man, but there was never a time that He was not God.” 

     But the point of the passage can be summed up in Philippians 2:5 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…,”  

     We are to not think highly of ourselves, but to be like Jesus, following His example of emptying Himself, and putting the needs of others before Himself.

     From what was written about Dag Hammarskjöld, I would surmise that he was familiar with at least the spirit of the passage from Philippians.  Though in a major sense we humans are all equal, yet we are to approach our fellow man not as master, but as servant, acting like said fellow man is the master. That should be our attitude.

     Imagine if the United Nations would approach the world’s problems with the Philippians 2 attitude.  What a different world in which we might live!  Well…one day it will be that way; not on account of the UN, but on account of the Kingdom of God, when it is consummated in its fullness upon Jesus’ return, and in the New Heavens and the New Earth.  What a different world that will be, indeed!

     Close? In the ballpark?

      Dana

 

 

 

Post 30-On Praise and Thanksgiving

                        

On Thu, Jun 30, 2016 at 8:47 AM John wrote to a number of friends

Hello All

            I'm reading through 1 Chronicles. One does not usually think of that book as a page turner. But I have been encouraged the past few days while working my way through it. God has given me several nuggets.

            For example, 1 Chron 13:14. Thus the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months; and the LORD blessed the family of Obed-edum with all that he had.  (I have a note in the margin next to that verse--"where God is there is blessing." )

            Or in 1 Chron 14:11. So they came up to Baal-perazim and David defeated them there; and David said, "God has broken through my enemies by my hand like the breakthrough of waters."  For those of you who can remember pictures of Hurricane Katrina, for awhile the levies held back the rising waters. But when the levies were breached and the water broke through,  n o t h i n g   could hold it back. Nothing could stop it. By faith I'm looking for that breakthrough by God for us, and for you and what you have been facing or asking Him for.

            Then today, as I was reading 1 Chron 16, there is a hymn or prayer of thanksgiving in vs 7 - 36. In verse 8 we are told to "Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; speak of all His wonders."

            So I took my Bible into our bedroom and knelt on the carpet to pray that hymn or prayer. I began to sing (literally) praises, for He is so worthy. And then verse 8 said "make known His deeds among the peoples."  You are the peoples... so

 

I thank God for my salvation.

I thank Him for delivering me from drunkenness.

I thank Him for giving me a godly wife. Carol is much better than I deserve. The fine example of the Proverbs 31 woman.

I praise Him for how He has provided for us through the years.

I ask for His blessing on all who have prayed for us through the years or helped us in any way. Don't forget a single one today Lord.

In spite of the circumstances we've been facing You are being faithful and will show Yourself faithful.

I thank Him for how He has kept His hand on our children and grandchildren as they are scattered about the world, because He knows where they are and what they need.

I thank Him for the angels that are camped around us and,  although usually unseen, help us.

I thank Him that greater is He that's in me than he that's in the world.

I thank Him for all His help, both asked for and just given to us.

I thank Him for friends like you.

And I thank Him for grace and mercy and peace.

 

            Have you noticed how this year there seems to be more blue sky and white, puffy cumulus clouds than in many years? Have you either recently been to the mountains or the ocean (or seen them on TV)? Aren't they beyond description, just magnificent. Have you stopped to smell any of the roses that are now blooming?  Or what about those of you who still have children at home or on the way? Or two nights ago, over one of the nearby corn fields was a blinking light show of lightening bugs twinkling in the dark. (who needs Las Vegas)  Verse 9b "Speak of all His wonders."

            I'm getting ready to go to the grocery stores. Try to imagine places in the world where there are none. Ours are filled with more plastic bags or cookies or chips or meat or vegetables than we know what to do with. Is God good, or what?  All the time!

            Yours for the Harvest

            John

            PS And one final verse. 1 Chron 18: 6b And the Lord helped David wherever he went.

           And since the Lord is no respecter of persons, He will help each one of you today, wherever you go. ("And what about tomorrow?" someone may be asking.  He tells us He's the same, yesterday, today, and forever.) Praise His name.

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Dana weighs in on Fri, Mar 17, 2017 at 3:18 PM

   Hi John,

     Praise is funny animal.  I’ve taken part in effusive Pentecostal worship services, solemn a Reformed worship, and a plethora of other denominational services from Anglican, to Baptist, to Catholic, although so far not a snake handling church, and, all that to say that the term “praise,” as expressed in denominational worship is indeed quite different body to body.  Each worshipping congregation believes it is praising the Lord during the worship service, although how they define and practice said praise is not at all the same way as the church down the road does it, and…they all believe they are right, and that the other church is probably not doing it as well as they are. 

     Pentecostals would probably not enjoy a steady diet of Presbyterian worship services, and vice versa. Yet, I believe if the heart is sincere, then the manner of practice is incidental.  If people want to give thanks and praise to God, and their intent is pure and loving and respectful, then I believe God gets glory from it, and accepts it, and loves it, much the way parents who have several children, each of different temperaments and abilities and inclinations, love them equally.  God loves solemn, stick in the mud Reformed Presbyterians, and, He loves those wild old Pentecostal boys as well.  Why?  Because our Lord looks on the heart, and not the particular style in which the praise is offered.  So a bit of charity might be in order when it comes to judging how the other guy praises the Lord.  It’s all good, and what fits one’s particular comfort zone is the best way for that one.  

     When it comes to thanksgiving, one of the more sobering passages in the New Testament is found in Romans chapter one.  Paul is describing the sinfulness of the Gentile world before turning his attention to his own people, then to all mankind in general. It is a passage that deals with God’s wrath on their encyclopedia of sinful practices, of which many are listed—too many to go into here without this turning into a commentary on Romans chapter 1.

     Romans 1:18-25 (ESV)

 

      ”For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

 

     Interesting, isn’t it, that at the base of gross sin, Paul lays…un-thankfulness.  The Christian community’s embracing of modern psychological thought and method has led many to become adept at coming up with all kinds of reasons for personal depravity.  And, while there may be some merit in their assessments, Paul is saying that aside from the original sin factor in general, the neglect of, or the intentional refusal to be thankful to God is the spring that feeds the well of evil behavior.

     That kind of puts a whole new spin on how we view sinful behavior, doesn’t it?  To neglect giving thanks to God for everything, continually, while a sin in and of itself, can, according to aul lead to much more grievous thought and action.

      We find ourselves today living in a sea of entitlement.  Everybody is entitled to everything, and, unfortunately our governments go out of their way to foster that mindset.  Not trying to get political here, but it is a fact of life, agree with it or not.  Before anyone thinks me just a cold hearted right winger—I’m not.  On the other hand I’m not a left winger either. No wings are on this boy. I’m not much on “wingers” of any stripe unless they be angels from Heaven. Admittedly there are some in our society who have not the ability or the wherewithal to provide their own support.  As a Christian, I believe it is our God-given obligation as the Church to help those who cannot help themselves.  To those who are able to help themselves, if they are down on their luck, then we should give them a “leg up” so as to get back on their feet again and henceforth help themselves. 

     Our national, state, and local governments have gone way overboard with the concept, and pretty much if you have a face and breathe oxygen then you are entitled to just about anything and everything.  The ones receiving it get addicted to it, and the rest tend to develop a “what about me—where’s my piece of the pie?” attitude.  So in one way or another we feel “owed.”  That attitude has the potential to creep into Christianity too.  It would be easy to take for granted thanking God for one’s food if said food is somehow thought of as “owed.”

     And while on the topic of thanking God for food, we must also be careful to not “say grace” mechanically, because we always do it, and have been since becoming Christians, or before if raised in a home where the blessing was said before eating.  Sometimes it’s good to thank God for food when it’s not time to eat.

     And while we say grace before meals, do we ever thank God for a good cup of coffee?  Or tea, or whatever your pleasure?  Our lives are very busy.  I lived in the Northeastern US for about 10 years in and around Philadelphia and New York City.  When I came to my senses and moved back home to North Carolina, I remember thinking as my back tires rolled across the state line, “Now, I’m finally done with the fast life and rat race, and I’ll move at a much slower pace….”  Hah!  I’ve never ceased to be busy since I’ve been back, and I live in too much of a hurry still. It’s inescapable.  

     The point is, that in the midst of our busy, busy lives whether we live in Mayberry or Manhattan, it can get easy to take things for granted...not for the above reason that we feel “owed,” but just because we’re way too busy.  When you think of it, there are many excuses and causes of excuses as to why our thankfulness fades.  And that must not be. We wouldn’t be too busy to pray for food if we were hungry would we?

     I believe in a previous letter and blog (indulgences please, dear readers) I mentioned to you that my favorite Christmas movie is Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” you know, the Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and Danny Kaye classic.  There is a song that is particularly memorable for me: “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep.”  There is much wisdom in that song, and I’ve found that that is indeed a good way to go to sleep—counting your blessings. Trust me, even if you have trouble sleeping, you’ll nod off long before you run out of things for which you can thank God.

     Another exercise that is good for devotions if you get tired of reading Biblical genealogies, is to take a notebook or paper, and just begin listing all of the many many things great and small for which thanks to God is due.  I’m telling you, it will become a project that will end with pages (plural) covered front and back, if you’re honest and persistent in your intent.

     Lastly, I think that after an exercise like the above, it helps to develop a life habit of thankfulness.  Be thankful all the time and for everything, because all that comes our way, for the good and the bad (because God uses even the bad things to make us more like Jesus) give thanks.  He deserves it, and the practice will do us no harm.

     Mmmmmm, that was a good cup of coffee.  Thank you Lord.

     Dana     

 

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PS  John adds after church on Sunday 3/19/17

            Today was communion. After the pastor finished teaching in James 3:1-5 about the extra responsibilities church leaders have, and the power of tongue, we had communion. Before passing out the elements, he told how Jesus was thankful, all the while knowing of His soon betrayal and crucifixion. (Matt 24:24-28  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+26%3A24-28&version=NIV )  In spite of your enemies, can you follow Jesus example today, and be thankful?

  

 

Post 29-"Food" for Thoughnt

                                                 
John wrote on Mon, Mar 6, 2017 at 4:00 PM

Hey Dana

            We’re at the shore this weekend in advance of what could be a BIG nor’easter, with either LOTS of rain and/or LOTS of snow. (Would you please pray and ask God to again keep His protective hand on our place? Thanks.) The marsh grass is brown and much of it is matted down after winter bouts of high tides and periodic ice. We’re just sitting down to a breakfast of everything bagels, cream cheese, and “Jersey meat.”

            When you lived up here, did you ever have Taylor Pork Roll? To my knowledge, it is popularly available in the Philly/New Jersey region. It is a delicious, processed meat product that still comes in a unique cloth bag. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_roll But, for many it falls into the category of Spam. (Personally, I love Spam, but Carol won’t even let it touch her plate.) One of Carol’s grandsons has only gotten Taylor Pork Roll when he visits us at the shore so he’s taken to calling it “Jersey meat.”

            Your comments on sugar got me thinking. I know this is an odd request, but other than the Old Testament (Leviticus 11) food laws, and Kosher today, does God have anything to say about diet and good eating? I know that He said to Peter to disregard the old food laws (see Acts Chapter 10). I’m not thinking of where Paul writes about food offered to idols in 1 Corinthians 8. But there are so many diets and diet companies it can be so overwhelming. The Mediterranean diet. The South Beach diet. Jenny Craig. Ad infinitum. But, those diets are important to those on them, and in some cases life changing. One especially important diet is the gluten free diet.

            There is a wealth of on-line information to investigate gluten and celiac disease. It seems to be showing up as a cause for more and more things. I'm not trying to turn it into a whipping boy, or go-to disease, but more and more people seem to be having symptoms of what could be celiac disease. http://www.healthline.com/health/allergies/gluten-allergy-symptoms#WheatAllergy2  Doctors seem to by-pass this as the cause for so many other of the illnesses or diseases they (the doctors) are trying to diagnose. We saw this with one of Carol’s daughters.

            One of Carol’s daughters had a skin disease and an almost open wound that came and went for years on her leg. She worked in a well respected, regional, midwest hospital and for years, doctors couldn’t find a cause and kept reporting it as non-specific dermatitis.  Well, through an odd set of circumstances, (of course we know it was God) the daughter was at a picnic and she pointed it out to someone. That person’s immediate response was, “You have celiac. Stop eating wheat products and gluten for a month and see what happens.”  https://celiac.org/live-gluten-free/glutenfreediet/sources-of-gluten/  The daughter was desperate, so she stopped eating the suggested food products.  In a month, her leg had begun to heal for the first time in years. So she got tested, specifically, for celiac. She had it. And, since going off the gluten, she’s not had a recurrence of the skin problems in years, unless she unknowingly eats some.

            (Note to blog readers: Disclaimer: we are not practicing medicine. Please see your doctor or nutritionist if you have some health problem that just won’t seem to go away.)

            Once that daughter stopped eating wheat products and things with gluten, others in the family began to do the same and it seems as if several others had celiac and are now gluten free.

            If you have time, can you weigh in on this?

Thanks

John

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Dana responded on Thu, Mar 9, 2017 at 2:03 PM

     John, it's been a l-o-n-g week already and my time has been short.  Below are some thoughts I put together on food.  Check it out and let me know if it is all right.

     Bon appetite'

     For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17 (ESV)

     OK, before all you exegetical watchdogs get your dander up, I do know that the above quote from Romans is part of a passage concerning, not so much food in general, but the possibility of one Christian potentially hurting a newer or weaker believer by exercising their freedom in Christ to eat or drink or participate in something which poses no particular moral problem to them, but could cause confusion or consternation on behalf of the weaker believer over something they deem might be wrong for them. Not going to go down a rabbit trail on that one…at least in this Blog.

     But, the point is true, and we as Christians have to be responsible in matters of freedom for us and how we practice that freedom among those who may not be coming from the place where we are in our walk. 

    In my adult life, I’ve spent 40+ years traversing the nation and in that time have visited many churches of many stripes, and while the good congregants of all those churches may disagree over whether free will or predestination plays a bigger part in their salvation, or whether the rapture will be next week, (or was it last week?), or whenever, the one thing they all seem to be able to agree on is good eating.

     While this must seem to be a copout, I honestly cannot promote one denomination over another, regardless of theological persuasion, when it comes to their cooking.  Honestly, I haven’t had a bad meal in any church I’ve ever visited, who was kind enough to provide a meal.  Let’s face it, Christians are good cooks.

      Bragging rights go to Christians over all the other religions as to culinary expertise.  And rightfully so.  Ever had fried chicken at a Buddhist temple?  Ever attended a pancake breakfast at a mosque?  I didn’t think so.  The people rest, Your Honor.

      While I’ve never felt divine conviction over the sin of gluttony (don’t worry, I’ve plenty of others to which divine conviction applies) I have to admit, if the devil were to tempt me in that area, it would be a tough resistance effort.  I love food; pretty much all of it.  Well there are a couple of exceptions.  I would rather eat a four day dead gopher on the side of the road raw, hair and all, than I would eat bleu cheese.  Not tremendously big on asparagus either, especially canned.  And while I could lose my Southern citizenship for saying so, mayonnaise isn’t high up on my list of favorite foods.  Oh, I don’t mind it in things like tuna fish salad or chicken salad, but to just slather it on a sandwich…nah, none for me, thanks.

      …and for good reason.  While I was in college back in the early 70’s, I had a housemate who was a mayonnaise junkie.  He ate mayonnaise on just about everything.  Once one of his high school buddies was down for a weekend visit, and they were watching a football game on TV.  When it came time for a snack, I kid you not, they took a bag of chocolate cookies and a jar of mayonnaise and made “Oreos” out of them.  They ate the whole bag of cookies that way.  If that wasn’t a sin, it should have been.

     One other time, I was taking the Philadelphia Teen Challenge men’s choir on a trip across the upper mid-western and western US of A, holding services for churches that faithfully provided financial support for our home chapter. When we’d arrive, the churches always had a big spread for a gang of road weary travelers upon which to chow down.  At one stop, in Iowa, if I remember correctly, or maybe it was one of the Dakotas, anyway, we were happily eating, when I was approached by the sweetest, kindliest little grandmother of a lady who offered me a plate of her “special dessert.” Had I refused, I felt sure a plague of Biblical proportions would befall me.

     This dear, saintly lady handed me a plate of what I recognized to be a neatly cut square of lime Jell-O, with a glob of what I thought might have been whipped cream sitting on top.  When I bit in to it, to my utter shock, dismay and horror, I learned that said whipped cream was mayonnaise.  I couldn’t see my face, but I am reasonably confident that it was turning a shade of green to match the Jell-O. They say that “honest confession is good for the soul.”  I certainly hope so, because when that nice grandmotherly lady so sweetly asked me if I liked it, I lied like a dog. Deliberately. Unashamedly.  I’m banking on the Lord’s mercy on that one.

     Yes, food is an important part of our lives; without it we’d die.  And, it is a major part of the social fabric of most, if not all churches.  It would be safe to assume that the majority of fellowship taking place in American churches includes, if it is not centered around the sharing of a meal.  Our Lord dined with His own disciples, and one such meal, we regularly commemorate as one of our most fundamental sacraments.  So Christians and food sort of go together.

     Now while I love food, and I love the fact that my Christian faith is shared by a lot of good folks who share that love, I’ve had to make some rather extreme changes to my eating habits.

     A recent physical revealed that I was “pre-diabetic.”  My blood sugar was higher than my medical professional thought was healthy.  As my wife had recently been placed on a diet completely devoid of sugar and starch (for different reasons) I decided to do the diet with her.

     Now aside from the stressful fact that I had to give up just about all food (and food that I dearly loved), I encountered something else altogether.  Two or three days into this diet, I encountered an almost soul crushing depression.  It was like yesterday everything’s OK, and today I want to crawl in a hole and die...miserably.  It was like the black, creeping death.  Nothing was good.  Everything was bad.  All hope was gone; the best I could muster was dangerous desperation. This lingered for two agonizing days.

     The freaky part was as I was trying to rationalize my present circumstances, I could find no reason for my depression.  Times were good.  My relationship with the Lord is a blessing. I have a great wife and family.  I’ve got tremendous friends.  I enjoy my job.  I’m not getting rich, but I’m eating (well, I was) and keeping the lights on.  It’s all good.  But there I was, stranded on the bottom of the world, with no place to go but down.

     Sharing my plight with someone close to me, turned on a light!  Sugar withdrawals!  Oh my, I hadn’t thought of that.  But I was convinced by their statements of description that they were absolutely right.  There was no other explanation. 

     This led to another revelation, and one which I had to reluctantly face.  If what was the cause of my recent overwhelming depression was withdrawal from sugar, then that meant I was an addict.  The good news was that in a couple of days, I was back to normal, and suffering no signs of depression or doom or despair.  It left as quickly as it came…thankfully.

    But that opened the doors for some serious soul searching.  I never considered myself a sugar junkie.  We seldom have dessert as part of our meals at home.  I do not drink soft drinks.  About the only time I indulge in candy is if there is any left after a holiday, and there is not much. 

     However the more I looked into this, the more I begin to find that there is sugar in EVERYTHING!  Hours roaming the aisles in our local grocery stores reading labels confirmed that just about every food product other than table salt contains some form of sugar.  If it contains any ingredient that ends in “-ose” then it’s sugar.  Even my summer baseball game food of choice, the venerable hotdog contains sugar.  Hotdogs?  Yes!  And, it’s not just sugar I had to watch, my doctor alerted me to a little noticed part of the label which read total carbohydrates.  Sugar, and starches, which turn into sugar in our bodies after being consumed.  Double whammy!

     After spending literally hours in the local food mart reading labels like I was combing an ancient map for buried treasure, it shocked and saddened me to see all the things we couldn’t eat and stay true to our diet…and that was most things.  We’re about down to grazing, which, on the bright side, will help in the lawn care department this summer.

    All of this got me to thinking about the verse:

     “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)

     Most of the times Christians tend to only apply the above verse to just smoking and drinking and getting tattoos.  Our body is a temple, so we shouldn’t put anything into it that which isn’t thought to be befitting Christian behavior.  That notion is quite subjective, and whatever is the particular boogey man of choice gets lumped into all the things we aren’t supposed to do because of the body/temple idea. The problem is that the boogey man substances changes church to church, region to region, until we reach the point of absurdity and we cannot eat or drink anything.  To keep our “temple” pure we ultimately have to die of dehydration and starvation.

    I know that is silly; I stretched the point intentionally.  But if we’re going to be so quick to ban tobacco and alcohol as things which defile the temple, why don’t we feel the same about the food we eat and the poisonous substances it often contains?   Before we go further, let me state for the record that I don’t subscribe to either tobacco or alcohol being definite instruments of defilement. I like what Jesus said in Matthew 15:11, “…it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”  (ESV)  That’s not to advocate for the use of alcohol or tobacco (see the quote from Romans at the beginning of the article), but I am convinced that humans, and that includes church people, consistently do much more harm to their bodies with a knife, fork and spoon than they do with a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of beer. Just sayin…’

    Not meaning to preach, but diabetes is a serious disease, and in “most” of the cases it is most likely preventable, and thankfully in my case, I was given the opportunity to make said corrections before it was too late.  Diabetes can lead to all manner of detrimental health issues like blindness, amputation, coma, and death.  And yet that is only one of the negative health concerns that come primarily from improper diet.  Had your cholesterol and triglycerides checked lately? 

     The point is, since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, if we’re going to avoid substances such as alcohol and tobacco (since they are the handiest to vilify) shouldn’t we also be somewhat careful to not defile the temple by eating or overeating things we know will harm, sicken, and, if not regulated, kill our earthly temple (or overly expand its boundaries around the middle)? 

     Now, I don’t intend to typecast out our Seventh Day Adventist friends and brothers in any way, but most of the ones with whom I’ve been associated, ate pretty good, and by pretty good, I mean healthy. It was a big thing with them. Also I don’t want to institute an eleventh commandment in that “Thou shalt not eat…or Thou shalt eat….”  I’m in no position to preach about eating habits.  But they (the Seventh Day Adventists) have allocated a lot of thought into what constitutes healthy eating, and isn’t there something we can learn and appropriate from that without becoming legalistic about it?

     Lest the rationale often usurped and misunderstood from the account of Peter from Acts 10, when God provides food for Peter, who refuses to eat it because it is to him, unclean, and, God tells him to not call what He has made clean, unclean.  This shouldn’t have to be said, but I’ve heard it interpreted that as long as a Christian says grace over their food prior to eating it, that it somehow consecrates the food, and makes the unclean (spiritually speaking) clean.  Nice try, but gratefully acknowledging the provision of poison doesn’t make it any less poisonous.  Not that God provides poison; He provides that which we need to procure food, which, 99.99% of the time is of our own choosing.

     One of the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5 is self-control.  That doesn’t just refer to not drinking too much.  It applies to every aspect of life.  Nothing in excess is good for us.  And that means food as well.  Let us strive to keep the old “temple” in as good a shape as we are able.  Read some labels, and use some common sense when it comes to what we eat.  If we are healthy and vibrant, we’re in a better condition to be useful in the Kingdom.

     You wouldn’t pour molasses in to your car engine in place of motor oil (more than once) would you? Would you use gasoline to water your vegetable garden…why?  Could it be that they are not designed to live or perform well with those substances?  Likewise our bodies are made to run well on certain kinds of food, but on the other hand, there are lots of foods that should be mostly avoided, and if consumed, done so in fairly strict moderation.

     Anybody out there know where I can get some manna? 

     Dana         

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John adds a PS just before publishing on March 12 

            I am just now writing someone who struggled with a severe medical problem for years, until they learned of a nutritional “cure.”   That reminded me of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-16 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+kings+5%3A1-16&version=NASB    He was looking for some spectacular miracle befitting someone of his status. God’s cure was pretty mundane.   Again, the disclaimer, we are not doctors or in the medical profession, but after years of living life and seeing a few things, sometimes nutrition, i.e. a change of diet along with reasonable exercise, may bring about the long, hoped for, positive results.