The Idol of Self in our All-Natural World

There have been quite a few health-related articles showing up on my facebook home page these days. Articles about how bad Subway is for you. Articles about the vaccination debate. Articles about how drinking Coke is one of the worst possible things you could do to your body. And to be honest? I'm quite tired of reading such articles.

While I have definite opinions about Subway, vaccinations and enjoying a Coke, this blog isn't the place to share such beliefs. But what I will share is this:

I'm worried that we've taken this whole healthy, natural living thing too far. 

Don't get me wrong: I'm all for eating healthy. Choosing fruits and veggies over Doritos and french fries. For substituting milk or water for pop. For exercising and taking care of our bodies. And if you're one of those who soaks your own grains, buys all organic and butchers your own cow: more power to ya. I wish I had your time, energy, and resources.

What worries me is, that in some ways, I think we've made idols of ourselves. Of our bodies. That we put more importance on what we put into our mouths and into our stomachs than on the One who knit our bodies together (Psalm 139:13-14, Matthew 15:10-11). That we're so concerned with making a better, longer life for ourselves that we forget the One who has our days written in His book (Psalm 139:16). That in the back of our minds, we think we can control outcomes and situations that are completely in His hands (Matthew 10:29-31).

Consider this:

• Do we spend more time researching vaccinations and all-natural options than we do in the Word?
• Do we spend more time arguing about the vaccination debate with others than we do sharing the Gospel with the lost?
• Do we spend more time cooking healthy, natural dinners for our families than we do in service to those who are hungry? Both at home and abroad?

I'm not trying to say there's a right and a wrong. I'm just wondering where our hearts are in all of this. And that my friend, is between you and God alone. May our hearts always seek Him first in everything we do.

"'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am jealous God . . .'" - Exodus 20:1-5, NASB (emphasis mine)