As Christian women seeking to live out our God-ordained roles and seeking the furtherance of God’s Kingdom for the next generations, we invest in many things. Investment is something whereby we dedicate ourselves or our resources in order to reap a return or reward later on. Health is like an investment, too. Taking the time to make deliberate decisions and making the effort to forego some immediate pleasures can lead toward great health and a more satisfying, God-honoring lifestyle.
As Christian women, a major realm of our work is with our families—whether our parents’ family (as younger women) or a spouse and children (as married ladies). This is where pursuing health can truly bless and benefit others and build good patterns for future generations. Investing in our own health, then the health of our families, can reap exponential rewards beyond what we may ever know.
Here’s what I told a younger friend the other day, as she was asking about the main message of the book I have recently written. I said, first of all, that the Almighty God created all things well. We, His creatures, can do no better than to 1) use His creation in its wild or most wholesome form, or 2) imitate/image His creation in our agricultural and cultural endeavors. God’s natural foods are the very best. And, if we are going to fashion a meal, a compound, or a product out of creation’s natural materials for the use of our bodies, we ought to respect and preserve the qualities thereof. If we adulterate or pollute natural elements, our bodies ingesting them will be affected the same extent.
Second, I noted that we often have to restrain ourselves to think this way, since much of the civilized world has gotten carried away with tampering with creation. From monocultures and genetic modification in food production, to chemical-filled cosmetics and household products, there are many grievances committed against the original purity of God’s world. I suggested to my friend to consider that there is an alternative, better way to just about everything that popular culture upholds. I know it probably feels like, as Christians, we do so many things different from the world already. But consider—that is the point! That is the way to build a counterculture where God’s Word is honored and where His Lordship is promoted. Being counter-cultural should be an adventure, not a burden.
Food—it doesn’t have to come from a factory. Birth—it doesn’t have to happen in a hospital. Wellness—it doesn’t have to (or can’t) come from drugs. Home—it doesn’t have to be so full of toxins. It is good for us to question the presuppositions beneath the actions in our industrialized societies, and ask whether there is a better way—a way more in keeping with godly principles of peace, unity, harmony, order, nurture, integrity, and wisdom, to name a few.
We’ll explore some of the above thoughts more, in future articles. I’ll close with a paragraph from my book, and leave you with the encouragement to 1) think about what God created, and 2) think about how, as women, we can employ God’s creation to invest in the health of the people we love.
“Everything formed at the time of creation by our sovereign God has the history of the world behind it and is perpetually reliable for the increase of wise and godly culture by mankind. Everything formulated by finite human beings in the last couple of centuries has little history behind it and has the precarious potential to decrease the strength of mankind’s culture if used unwisely.
“[Understand] the contrast between the design, record, and usage of natural versus unnatural foods and products… [Generate] changes in your lifestyle and reform the way you think about our Western Civilization. I hope that the care and concern with which you start to approach your health will eventually lead to delight as you take dominion coram deo—under God— over this area of your life.”
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