The Doorpost: Has God chosen a diet for us? (Romans 14)

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. … 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 14:1-5,17

Today we are bombarded with dietary advice. Some say we need to reduce fat or protein consumption. Others make a very strong case that doing this has not improved the overall health of the American public at all and that more of our problems come from overconsumption of carbohydrates. Some say that certain foods are bad for us and should never be eaten. Some go so far as to use selected passages of Scripture to “prove” that God has a chosen diet.

The passage quoted above would seem to indicate that debates about what Christians should eat are not a new thing. There obviously were people in Paul’s day who had different opinions about what God wants us to eat. What was the opinion God gave through Paul? He said it is a disputable matter. God has accepted the people who hold differing opinions, so we must accept them, too.

Would God’s Word tell us this if some of the foods were actually bad for us? Is there any scientific or health information we have today that our sovereign God, Who created everything, didn’t already know about when He gave us the Scripture above? First Timothy 4:3-4 tells us everything God crated is good. Who are we to think that we know more than God’s Word?

Unfortunately, we Christians sometimes have a tendency to be indecisive when it comes to matters the Bible clearly says are sin and then divide over matters that God’s Word tells us are disputable. This passage makes it clear that food is not an issue we should divide over. We should give more of our attention to the matters of the kingdom of God—righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.