Morphemics

Faith and Fitness

Anyone who has ever gone to Covenant College will be familiar with the program of integrating faith and learning. In many classes, this was natural. At other times, it felt forced. First semester PE, in my opinion, was one of these. The final exam consisted of writing a short essay that made use of various Bible verses that considered the topic of physical fitness. I was, and still am, of the opinion that this could not be done without imposing a serious injustice on whatever verses might have been chosen. But there was no way around it so I complied. I recently found the rough draft on an old floppy disk...

In Leviticus, the entire eleventh chapter is dedicated to clean and unclean foods. Surely if God would spend that much time on the subject, then he must be concerned about our fitness. His concern even extends to specific aspects of our nutrition. Leviticus 7:23 says, “Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats.” Only later did science discover why: this kind of fat is saturated.

In Daniel 1:11-16, Daniel and his friends insist on a diet of vegetables and water; they end up healthier. We too should follow his example and be strict vegetarians. Like the song says, “Dare to be a Daniel.” In contradiction to this, Exodus 12:9 tells us the correct way to prepare meat - roasted, not boiled. This tension is resolved when Jesus repeals the dietary laws, but only for those who can maintain their health and stay regular. Mark 7:19, “For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body. (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’)” All other people would be well advised to use their Christian liberty to follow God’s dietary plan as outlined in his word.

It is well-known that people who eat at home before going out to eat will eat less at the restaurant. I Corinthians 11:34 substantiates this, “If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.” This judgment is spelled out in Proverbs 23:2, “and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.” There would be far fewer overweight people if only this Biblical command were followed. God takes the seven deadly sins very seriously.

A final word on serving guests. II Kings 6:28,29 relates this story, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so that we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘ Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she has hidden him.” We later discover that the king is upset about this, which forces us to ask ourselves why. It was a matter of table etiquette. If we ever serve a meal, it is bad form, and not very Christian of us, to do so expecting one in return. After all, what did Jesus do after feeding the 5000?

Or we could suppose that the Bible was never meant to be read as a collection of proof texts on fitness and diet. Not only is subjective interpretation too easy, but, invariably, the focus is turned on us and away from the God who has created people in his image and has pronounced them good. As evidenced by the final resurrection, those people whose souls he has redeemed will also have their bodies redeemed. Our attitudes toward our bodies are to be informed by the value that God has placed on them.

Incidentally, Acts 27:34 teaches that people who eat won’t go bald.