Is It Our Responsibility or God’s?

Would God allow us to fail just for the sport of it?  For example, if we discovered we had a debilitating illness, would He pull the rug out from under us and provide no escape from it?  Would He taunt,”Haha, gotcha! That’ll teach ya to disobey!” 

Seriously, is that how you view Him? No, God always provides strength for those who seek Him. Whether we accept it is our choice.

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

God desires only the best for us. But do we want what is best for us? Be honest, not always. We are a disobedient culture. Occasionally we self-destruct.  We give in to temptation and fail miserably. Temptations abound all around us! Satan loves to tempt Christians, hoping we’ll fail. It’s good sport to him.

God originally created a perfect, joyful life and He never wanted to take that away from us! Adam and Eve did that. I don’t know many people who are joyful when living outside life’s rules. Don’t become that spoiled child we see in a supermarket demanding treats! A life of strict rules and regulations isn’t much fun but neither is a chaotic life without boundaries.

We wouldn’t reverently pray, “God protect me as I travel today,” and then drive recklessly, without a seatbelt, through stop signs, expecting God to honor us.  As God’s children, He provides limits for a reason. If we stubbornly push beyond them, we risk danger due to our own choices.

Likewise, we must take responsibility for our own eating habits.

Look at how the Jewish nation was instructed to eat in the Old Testament.  Their culinary boundaries were the whole grains, fruits and vegetables mentioned in the Bible: Lamb, beef, fish, cucumbers, figs, raisins, melons, olives and olive oil, grapes, apples, wine, milk, honey, grains and Ezekiel bread. There wasn’t a chemically, hormone-added, preservative-based meal in the bounty He handed out!

Several patients have sat in my office and blamed God for their troubles. In my frustrated humanity, I’m thinking, God did this to you? Did God force you to consume two bacon cheeseburgers at lunch every day? And did He force you to smoke three packs of cigarettes a day? Take ownership of your choices! Don’t blame God for your personal decisions.

Please don’t get me wrong, sometimes genetics has something to do with it and it might be our unfortunate lot in life to inherit an illness from a family member’s DNA. But almost every illness can be traced back to what we consume nutritionally; diabetes, heart disease, liver, kidney damage, IBS, even cancers.

I praise God that He didn’t ask me to live in Old Testament times. I am not sure I could pass the test with all of its precise culinary rules, regulations and sacrifices as required. God banned certain foods and instructed Israel how to eat for sanitary reasons. Today we have refrigeration and sanitary oversights. However we also live in a world of grace– we get to choose, so choose what is best.