Peaceable Eating

Okay, folks, I just have to harp on this for a while and then, I'll be quiet about it...for awhile. I've mentioned it here before, but today, I want this to be our focus.

The last time you ate, was it with anger? Bitterness? Resentment?

Let's face it. There is a multitude in this world over which to be angry. To be 'ticked-off' about. I am guilty. But I am trying not to be. Are you?

I don't ask to pry into your weaknesses. I ask for your health. Anger is bad for us. Chew on it enough and it will chew on your liver...weakening it and therefore chipping away at a major line of defense in the body. A critical organ. We need to nurture our livers as much as possible, abstaining from excesses in alcohol and pesticide-ridden foods. It is part of the reason for the kombucha on my counter and the tibicos in my fridge. It is the reason for much of the change that has come into my husband's and my life over the last few years.

We can make those physical changes and even make them permanent. Once we know how, the effort isn't so much. But there is one great change we can make that we will always, as long as we're in these earthly bodies, have to work to keep. A peaceable attitude. That doesn't mean we don't rise to the occasion when someone needs our protection. It does mean we choose our battles very carefully and walk in as much grace as possible.

That can really be hard for food purists, can't it?

I will post things here that will stir you to indignation, because manufacturers in the food industry really shouldn't dupe us the way they do. But we have to be careful or we may find ourselves projecting anger towards the ignorant. We may find ourselves lumping together all those in certain lines of work and labeling them as 'the enemy'.

Do you know people who like to draw dividing lines between people? ...Maybe even live to do so because of their own personal misery? Come on, you know there are folks who have things going on in their own hearts who will point the finger in any direction away from themselves in the hope that you don't see what's really there. Anything will do...religious differences, political differences, food differences, medical differences....whatever it is, 'they' are the enemy and must be stomped down, stifled or destroyed.

Jesus tells us that we don't have to physically kill someone to kill someone. All it takes is the tongue. So, who have you killed already today? (She asked, with three fingers pointed toward herself.)

The point?

Health.

If we are going to live in constant anger and strife, we will never recover from whatever ailments drove us to find a better way of eating in the first place. Oh, it will most likely work for a while...but it will not 'stick' because the root of the problem may come from repressed or unleashed anger. The thing we have to do is get rid of it all together. Read these words from the author, Sally Fallon Morrell, of Nourishing Traditions:

"To make us healthy, our food must taste good, it must be digestible, and it must be eaten in peace. Even whole foods, properly prepared according to traditional methods, do us no good if we eat them with a grudge; they will not confer health on the person who does not forgive. It is the loving heart who will find, in the pages that follow, guidelines for providing an abundance of all the nutrients we need to live healthy, happy and productive lives."

Grudges aren't just those things we have against a single individual. Those who run the food industry count, too. Under the machine, there is a person. It is a tangled, tangled web that the enemy has spun for us in the world of food and health. It seems that mainstream thought is completely topsy-turvey.

But as the light shines on the dark areas, revealing the truth, we must guard our hearts so we are not further damaged by the effects of this evil. And believe me, Satan doesn't rest with our being affected in only one area...he is not, never has been, and never will be, a 'fair' fighter. He attacks from every angle. We must protect from every angle. Protect ourselves. Protect one another. Go ahead and share information. Sign petitions. Seek to speak, respectfully...always respectfully, to those in position to make the necessary changes. If you come against them accusingly, they will shut you down, first in their minds and consequently in their actions. And your anger will have served only one purpose...self-destruction.

And by all means, do not lump all in the food industry, all in the medical industry, etc, etc, etc, in a single pile. All people are not all alike. Many are trying to make changes. Many are making changes. If our change into traditional 'fooding' takes baby steps, why do we expect those on the other side of the fence to jump on our bandwagon without questions...especially when it may affect their life's work? We have to be patient...with them and with ourselves as we learn and grow and change.

Let me tell you something...for those of you who are here that don't already know me personally very well...I tend to have a short temper. Jesus has been bending and stretching and making me into a sort of Gumby, so I don't display it as often, and he has also, more importantly, been doing major work on my heart. Surgery. Painful surgery. But it's been for a good return of more patience. More love. So, when I talk about this, believe me when I say, I DO get fed up with people's meanness, manipulation and greed. But every last one of them is important, is loved beyond our shallow understanding of love, by God. That means I'd better check my attitude towards them, too.

For this reason, when I see, hear or read someone bashing others as 'bad', I now take a second look, guarding my heart, and say, "Maybe not. Maybe not all of them," and for those who are what is accused, I am going to ask God to bring them revelation of the truth in such a way that they will accept it. Revelation of truth with a bat in one hand is no good, people. In fact, it's not even real. What I am seeing is a lot of self-righteous folks with big bats, saying, "You make changes or else!!!" and because anger begets anger, the answer is, "Oh, yeah!? And just who is gonna make me?" And the battle rages, with both sides winning and losing various battles while the enemy of our souls wins the war for our health.

Actually, what I'm seeing is a lot of reverse discrimination. People who were oppressed by slavery for centuries must guard their hearts against discrimination against those who are ancestors of their oppressors. People who have been hurt by religiosity among Christians must guard their hearts against the temptation to accuse and discriminate against all Christians. People who have been duped by the claims of medicine and medical practitioners must guard their hearts against anger and wholesale discrimination towards all doctors and medical facilities. People duped by the processed food industry must guard their hearts against hatred and discrimination towards every person associated with that industry. Perhaps those we perceive as the enemy are merely ignorant. Barring that, perhaps they are in bondage to greed or a great many other ailments. And I understand that without knowing the teachings of Jesus and believing he is who he says he is, you may not really 'get' this post, but I know many readers here are Christians, or claim to be, and my challenge to you is to be what you say you are. 

Let's rid ourselves of our self-righteous anger. I am fully aware that I make a tremendous plea from a tiny blog, but maybe if you read this, you can pass along the sentiment. Jesus rose in anger, it's true. And like mother hens, so should we. But it should always be in defense of others, not just to be right or stir up strife so we can look like some sort of hero to peers of our 'cause'. In other words, not for ourselves...not self-righteously.

So, today's encouragement? Live as much in peace with others as possible, so you can eat in peace and allow God's good food to do it's best work in your body.