Glorifying God in Our Bodies

We teach our children that drinking wine, alcohol, and liquor is bad.  And it is.  We actually have Bible verses to back that up.  I can even find verses to back up the stand I take on the way we should dress, hair on men and women, and tattoos.  But give me one Bible verses that says it's wrong to smoke!  I don't know of a single one.  We use the verse that says our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and that we should take care of it for that reason.  I Corinthians 6:19-20 and 7:23.

But, if we are going to teach them NOT to smoke because their bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, then shouldn't we teach them how to be healthy also?  I mean, allowing sugar and caffeine in sodas and sugar waters and candy and ice cream and especially those fake sugars.  Don't get me started....!!! Chemicals, preservatives, additives and MSG are all things that are bad for us.  Vaccinations are nothing but chemicals and live viruses that we insert right into the blood streams of our children.  Teflon in our pots and pans.  Aluminum in our bake ware and our deodorant.  Ammonia and aluminum in our soaps.  Chemicals in our cleaning supplies and detergents.  What about all the chemicals we give them in the name of medicine?  All of these things are dangerous for us and our health.

Don't get me wrong.  I don't think we should panic and tear our houses apart trying to get all the "poisons" out lest we die in our sleep!  I'm just saying that we allow our children to ingest toxins and come in contact with things that are not helping them to "glorify God in their bodies".  If our bodies truly belong to God we should do our best to put things in them that will help them, strengthen them and protect them.  (If we love our children, we should do this anyway!)

Daniel and his 3 friends took a stand.  They refused to eat the king's meat.  They ate what they knew God would be pleased with.  I know that we live under grace now, and not under the law like Daniel and his 3 friends.  I understand that it's OK for us to eat pork now.  And we do.  I like ham.  I just try to limit it.  Moderation is a good rule for anything including sugar but NOT including fake sugars. The Old Testament "food rules" are actually good guide lines to go buy.  It's amazing if you study all of it.  God gave His children only the best foods to eat.  The ones that are not good for you (such as pork and cat fish) he did not allow them to eat.

So, do I think we should allow our children to smoke?  NO!!!  Do I think we should explain to them why it's bad for them?  YES!  I totally think we should prepare them for temptations that may come their way.  But just like we teach them to avoid the BAD things, I think we should help them to understand the GOOD things that God has given us to enjoy as well.  And there are so many more good things!!  That's a good thing.  ; )

Where do we start?  Baby steps.  Wherever you feel comfortable.  What's the most important to you?  What seems the most important?  Some things take a while.  You may have to wait until you can afford new pots and pans before you get rid of those old aluminum pans and Teflon pots.  You may have to study up on things like Vaccinations to see just what YOU think about them and what's best for your family.  I can tell you my experience with them sometime.  (No more vaccinations for us.)

I would recommend starting by drinking more water and 100% Juices without any sugar added.   Do what seems most important to you.  I've learned a little at a time and I've made baby steps as I've learned.  You don't want to send your husband into shock and your children running away from home because you bombarded them with so many changes at once!  One at a time...some can be subtle some not so much.  Make it fun.  Pray about it.  God will give you ideas.  Look around and get some more ideas.  Or better still, leave me some of your ideas!!  =D