Starting and Starting Over - Vegetarianism

And God said (to Adam), Behold, I have given you every herb bearing

seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is

the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. - Genesis 1:29

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitf

and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread

of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air,

upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea;

into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be

meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. - Genesis 9:1-3

The Flood was not only an end, it was a new beginning. Notice that God gave in the garden EVERY plant for food. So before the fall, no plants were poisonous to us. Perhaps, after so many years in the fallen state, the nourishment our bodies need was simply no longer available from the plant kingdom. That is arguable, I know, due to combining foods to make complete proteins. But whatever the reason, after the Great Flood, God turned animals over to us for food.

Many people think animals sacrificed in the Old Testament were "wasted," but in fact, most sacrifices were eaten. Certain parts were burned on the altar, making a pleasing aroma rising to God. Certain parts were for the priests. The rest was shared in a communal meal with the people, particularly the offerers and their families.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart

from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking

lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to

marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be

received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For

every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with

thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

A side note from that last sentence of this well-known passage, is that I began to feel noticeably better, physically, when I began to bless my food with intent. I realized one day that, though I "said grace" or "said the blessing," it was just a ritual -- vain words. I apologized to God, Jehovah Jireh, my Provider, and began to consciously pray a blessing on the food: do no harm, do only good, nourish, be a blessing to our bodies, multiply to fill the need, satisfy, bring us together in fellowship. What do you want or need your food to do? Bless it to do that.

Like Daniel, there may be seasons in which you are called to certain dietary restrictions. Sometimes you will fast altogether. Sometimes you will eat rich foods. Sometimes you will eat more sparingly or leaner foods. But legalism in any area is not worship, being led by the Spirit is, even in food choices. I'm preaching to myself here.

My husband and I ate lots of meat when we were in our 20s and 30s. I eat much less now. Just last night I made Red Beans and Rice with no sausage, if there is such a thing. "Impossible!" my Cajun friends would exclaim. But I'd had sausage the previous week and just didn't want it again yet wand was looking for a way to use up some leftover rice. So I added cajun seasoning, to the beans a splash of this and that, a little more veg (red bell pepper and green onion) and it was good. Oh, and there was butter involved. And boullion. Both are animal-based.

The point is to listen to your body on a day-to-day basis, within God's framework. The Bible establishes that His framework includes animals, plus blessing your food, and fasting.

Food for thought:

If you are vegetarian or vegan, start talking to the Lord about it -- it could be that the enemy is using it to keep you overly focused on yourself and your diet, and to deny you some of the good God has for you. If you're not a vegetarian, start trying the opposite... being more aware of what you're eating and if it's what God wants you to eat at that moment.

I agree with Kris Vallotton, who said,

If God didn't want us to eat animals, He wouldn't have made them out of meat!

Kemala