1 Corinthians 10:31

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Daniel 1:12-15

“‘Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.’ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.”

One of my favorite Bible stories appears in Daniel 1. This is the story of young Daniel, a teenage hostage in the Babylonian kingdom, who was being assimilated into Babylonian culture. As part of that, he was ordered to eat foods that he considered unclean. Daniel resisted and as a result of his faithfulness and his willpower, God blessed his body and his career.

There are millions of lessons from Daniel’s story, but for a moment let’s focus on his diet. God created food for our bodies to give us energy, sustain life, prevent diseases, and facilitate healing. Our food choices will affect our moods, our mental focus, our physical performance, our weight, our immune system function, our decision-making, and our appearance. In other words, by making smart choices at the dinner table we can improve our quality of life.

Daniel knew what to eat and when to eat it. He was determined not to put anything into his body that would dishonor God. So he, along with his friends, stood by his convictions and ate nothing but vegetables and drank nothing but water! God blessed his decision and his faithfulness to His commands.

In America today over 65% of all adults are overweight, mostly because they lack the willpower that Daniel showed. In his culture, the king’s food was sacrificed to idols. In our culture, our diets honor the “idol” of self-satisfaction and gluttony. Even when we know our food choices are destroying our bodies, we refuse to step back.

Don’t forget – God cares about our bodies. Each one is a Temple of His Holy Spirit. That’s why Paul said that even what we eat and drink should somehow honor Him. As hard as that passage is to “stomach,” remembering it should change our perspective about what goes in our mouths.

Name some ways that you can honor Him with your diet.

Read Daniel 1 in your Bible.  What are some other lessons you can learn from Daniel?