Thursday, February 23, 2012

And so it Begins

First off, I wanted to tell you all that I appreciated your comments and emails regarding yesterday's post.

I was a vegetarian for about eight years (during college and the years following).  While I was strict when I had a say about what went into my mouth, it was always very important to me that I didn't offend any one with my choice.  If we went to someone's house for dinner who didn't know I (or we, Jamey didn't eat meat for a portion of this time) was a vegetarian, I kept quiet and ate what I was served.  I didn't want to, but I felt the relationship was more important than my dietary preference.

"Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall". 1 Corinthians 8:13

Here Paul is talking about not leading a brother (or sister) into sin or guilt based on our food choices.  Barnes' Notes on the Bible interprets Paul's intention, "My eating meat is a matter of comparative unimportance. I can dispense with it.  It is of much less importance to me than happiness, a good conscience, and salvation are to my brother. And the law of love therefore to him requires me to deny myself rather than to be the occasion of leading him into sin. This is a noble resolution; and marks a great, disinterested, and magnanimous spirit. It is a spirit that seeks the good of all; that can deny itself; that is supremely anxious for the glory of God and the salvation of man, and that can make personal comfort and gratification subservient to the good of others. It was the principle on which Paul always acted; and is the very spirit of the self-denying Son of God."

And I believe this should go both ways.  We shouldn't let our food preferences hinder our relationships with anyone (vegetarian, vegan or meat-eater:-)).  

So, with all that said, I wanted to be clear that Forks Over Knives impacted my thinking about food and I wanted to share it with you.  I did NOT mean to cause anyone to doubt or feel guilty about their eating choices.  Our sisterhood and fellowship is much more important:-).


***************************

We've just entered Lent.  While Lent is often considered a time when we give something up, I think there is great importance in adding something as well.  Just like fasting is not merely not eating, it's to free us up to spend the time we would be eating in prayer.

I imagine many of you are giving something up for Lent or adding something to your Lenten experience and I would love for us to share these things with each other.  If you've taken something away, I'd love to challenge you to add something beneficial as well.

I'll go first.  For the past couple years, I've given up sweets to Lent.  Recently, I feel I have a good handle on sweets.  My new vice seems to be TV show series' I can watch instantly on Netflix (when the children and Jamey are off to bed).  Downton Abbey, for example.  SO.  This year for Lent, I'm not watching any TV shows or movies (except my Bible Study video segments and family watching of Little House on the Prairie).  In it's place I am super excited about having more quiet time, time to read and quality time with Jamey (and getting to bed earlier).

Okay, it's your turn, dearies.  What is helping you orient your lives towards what's important this season? Pin It

6 comments:

  1. I learned something new today,I did not know that you shared lent as we do [ sort of] being brought up to go to a catholic school and attend mass daily was just part of life. but during lent ,as a teen ,I remember ,it was challenging to do stations [ stations of the cross ] ,they were required .I don't know,I guess we felt if we didn't follow like good little sheep-we would perish and go to purgatory or something.so we allays observed lent. this year I again want to do sweets so I can help Jerry follow his diabetic diet easier and maybe lose a few ponds in the progress [ I better ] but most if all to honor God I will also do something healthy-more salads and I'll even stop complaining when I watch TV with Jerry and he wants to watch gun smoke EVERY NIGHT--lol--happy lent to you all

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am super excited for the lenten season this year. I found a quote online that really got the wheels turning " give up or do something that you could never do on your own" I just thought that was so inspiring. So I'm really trying to be more patient and to not complain. I'm sure I'll be praying for help daily.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I watched the film again last night with my kids, they are young but still found what they understood interesting. The thing that I have been taught is that animal protein becomes toxic when it is cooked with high heat. The thought is low and slow for eggs, meat, etc...so no pressure cooker, no high heat grilling, broiling, frying. I don't always stick to this rule which brings us back around to your original post on dietary health. I just wanted to share that tidbit because so many of us are omnivores, and it seems the process of preparation makes a big impact on the affects that egg or hunk of beef has on our health. Why I didn't think to mention this originally I do not know, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  4. My pastor challenged our congregation to attend a special weekly Bible study during lent. I think it's going to be one of our most attended studies ever. I feel like our congregation has really turned a corner and we are now heading in the right direction. The spirit is strong this Lent!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Where in scripture does God tell us to give up something? I don't understand why people go OUTSIDE the Bible to follow man made religious practices. Nothing we can give up will compare to what The Lord Jesus Christ went through on the cross. God gave up His own SON and us giving up sugar or the computer somehow is pleasing to God? I just don't understand at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. By all means if a practice isn't meaningful to you or you don't understand it, you should not do it. I offer my perspective on why I chose this practice.... By giving something up during Lent I am not trying to replicate the sacrifice that God made in giving up His Son. My goal is to take something away (this year TV) so I can spend that time in thought/prayer as a means of attempting to comprehend all that this season means. Christ fasted to prepare Himself. Believers chose to "fast" from different activities this time of year as a way of preparing or regularly acknowledging this Lenten season and what it means to them. I offer this not to convince you of anything, but as an explanation as to why it's meaningful to some:-).

      Delete

Just a friendly reminder, if you know me personally please try to refrain from using my name. There are those who may try to locate me, break into my pantry and steal my pickled beets. Thanks:-).

Please choose the Anonymous option if you prefer not to sign in to comment.

Related Posts with Thumbnails