Feebleminded - Food
Scripture Reading - Romans 14:1-3 KJV
1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
This lesson may have a little bit of controversy with it but it is not a subject we would ever argue about. The controversy one could bring up is the subject of enjoying eating meats unto the Lord or refusing all meats for the sake of the health in your body. We (ihlcc) know some doctors and nutritionist have recommended to many people not to eat meat. Why? The simple answer is they deem it unhealthy and/or fattening. However, we do have a scripture in the Holy Bible that dismisses this attitude of not eating meat as being weak in the faith. What the scripture is saying is that a good (solid) Christian should pray over their food to ask the Lord’s blessing upon whatever goes into their body. This is only fitting (proper) because your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. Yes, your body is the Lord’s property and for that reason you need to be a good steward over your body which is God’s body too. Therefore, we can conclude that if a medical professional or nutritional expert makes a bold claim that all meat is bad for your body they are probably making this statement based upon carnal reasoning not the Word of God which produces faith. When we make the statement of some being Feebleminded concerning food it is never to condemn anyone but rather to point out that if you would like to eat meats you don’t have to be afraid. Some have been taught by a close love one or authority figure to never eat meat so they do so without the knowledge of God’s Word. The purpose of this write up is to give some more knowledge (light) to anyone who might be in the dark about eating God’s food with prayer in faith. Now we are not saying if your doctor told you a specific reason not to eat a certain food for certain time because your body is healing from an ailment, by all means stay in unity with your doctor. If however, you are not eating meat because you believe the fears of meat being bad for the health of all people be aware (informed) that you are speaking falsely against God’s Word of Truth. In 1 Timothy 4 verses 3 to 5 the Word of God clearly states weaker (feeble) minded people will instruct others to abstain from meats which God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who know (believe in) the truth. Why? Solely because every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it is received with thanksgiving. This prayer over the food sanctifies the food by the ever living Word of God. Thus, we (all people) have a choice to be strong minded concerning the freedom we have to eat meat and all God’s creations (including all fruits, vegetables, certain plants, nuts, etc…). Also, there are some feebleminded people concerning food who have the freedom to reject all meats without judgment because their heart’s attitude is more important than the food they eat. In other words what comes out of your mouth (words spoken from your heart) is more important than what you put into your mouth (the food you eat). If you can eat all meats with a clear conscious, “Praise the Lord” knowing this freedom is never to be used as bragging right but rather as a soft spoken word to calm the fears of food for a weaker brother or sister in Christ. The Holy Bible also teaches that we should never let our knowledge of God’s Word to eat all things created by God be a stumbling block for those who don’t believe that way. So in essence those people who are happy and content to be vegetarians or vegans that is OK and we (ihlcc) do love them in spite of our disagreement on this subject. Why? If that is their wish (desire) so be it we are happy because they are happy. Who are we to impose our own personal will over another person’s heart (their will). There is a lot more to life besides eating to satisfy our natural hunger and drinking to quench our natural thirst. Therefore dear believer in Christ, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His Might by knowing you can eat all things. However when you are with those who are feebleminded concerning food you need to behave yourself wisely by not letting your strong minded knowledge of God concerning food be a point of contention between two beloved believers in God. It is certain whatever weakness (feeblemindedness) we do have concerning our doctrine in Christ will all come to full light (strong mindedness) when we spend more time with God in our personal fellowship around God’s Word. Fellowship inside God’s Word is the key to all truth and it is our sole source of sound mindedness upon this earth and in Heaven. Amen!