During college I had a steady diet that consisted of pizza, burgers, and Ben & Jerry’s. Oftentimes the most difficult task after a rough afternoon in Organic Chemistry was deciding between the merits of Cherry Garcia and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I would eat the whole container for dinner and then celebrate the occasion by sleeping it off in my dorm room. If I ever ate any vegetables, they were part of the toppings on my pizza (but of course I preferred just pepperoni). Aside from the fact that I once nearly passed out in an early morning Organic Chemistry lecture after downing a quart of chocolate milk and a pastry – I was convinced that my diet was perfectly reasonable. After all I had the benefit of my education for nutritional insight. The way I saw it, all of our nutritional needs boiled down to carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins. Since sugar is carbohydrates in its purest form, and beef is proteins in its purest form – so long as I popped a vitamin supplement every morning my diet was awesome!
My nutrition teacher tried to convince me that we needed to eat plants because they probably had ‘phytochemicals’ we needed - but I laughed it off thinking it was just an excuse to go green. Whatever, I thought – if doctors don’t need to put it in an IV bag for patients that can’t eat, then I don’t need it. So I merrily continued along in my miserable diet without recognizing the havoc it was wreaking on my body. Because my college routine was so varied, and I had to walk miles to all my classes every day, it was difficult to notice any connection between my diet and body – but this all changed when I began an 8 to 5 schedule at work. At lunchtime I fell into the tradition of topping off every meal with a flurry (alternating Oreos and M&M’s) and washing it all down with a large coffee. This gave me a nice happy boost as I returned to work after lunch – until about 2 pm. Suddenly the mice were difficult to handle and the pipettes just didn’t want to obey as I slouched over the lab bench.
As this was completely unacceptable, I found that the controlled conditions of the workplace were perfect for a human experiment on myself. I began to vary my diet every day and make mental notations of my corresponding energy levels as the day progressed. Of course my beloved daily flurry and coffee were the last items to be considered: they were nutrition in its purest form! But inevitably the 2 pm crash would always come, so I reluctantly removed the flurry in favor of sweetened coffee. This helped, but one day during lunch as I was sipping my candy coffee I read an article about the correlation between adult onset diabetes and sugary drinks…. and suddenly I stopped sipping and thought, “Nooooooo!” In an instant all of my dietary woes were revealed to me – as I had never before considered the effects of my diet on blood sugar levels and my corresponding energy. The rationale for my dietary hedonism was gone, and now I could either continue on a blind path towards destruction or seek change.
Pouring my coffee down the sink was the beginning of my repentance, and over the next several weeks I began to make drastic changes in my eating habits. Instead of being motivated by my taste buds, now I was motivated by a desire to feel healthy and energetic. The difference between the two approaches was radically different – with radically different results. At first it didn’t seem like it would be true, but it became increasingly obvious that it was better to forsake the instant gratification of my taste buds for continual energy throughout the day and a healthy complexion. My diet changed so radically that for a period of time I omitted all refined sugars from my diet – which didn’t seem possible before for the sugar tooth I was. But it felt so good to be healthy, I was willing to give up anything to maximize and maintain it.
Unfortunately it is natural for us to be motivated by a desire for instant gratification, both physically and spiritually. The reasoning behind “If it tastes good eat it”, or “If it feels good do it” seems perfectly sound to our thinking. So strong is our desire to satiate every fleeting inclination that we will build entire philosophies around justifying our habits. But like me and my diet, we are often rationalizing ourselves into destruction. Scripture warns us in Colossians 2:8-9 to “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” God is like our Nutrition teacher – and He knows exactly what we need to be healthy and happy. After all He made our taste buds and our bodies, and understands all of our tastes and desires. To trust in Him and follow His ways is to know His fullness –
