You are what you eat

Well, that is debatable, but that is not what I am going to talk about.

Last night, I was reading 2 Mc 6:18-31, and it really got me thinking. Mind you, all this in my own personal interpretation and what it means to me.

Here was a man, Eleazar, who refused to eat the pork. He willing went to the torture chambers because he would rather die then give in -- for it was unlawful to eat the meat.

It was suggested that perhaps they serve him a meat of his choosing at this "unlawful ritual meal," and he just pretend that he was eating the pig for he was a close friend of the host. Still, Eleazar refused.

Eleazar's intentions were noble; he did not want to give the false impression that he was doing something unlawful just to save his own life. He did not want to cause others to sin by them also eating the meat and thinking that it was alright because he had done it first.

That. That part right there. Stop a moment and think: how many times do we cause our brother to sin? How many times do we do something to  please our friend, but the very action itself is unlawful to God? Sadly, looking back at my life, I can certainly see areas where these are most definitely true.

As scary as it sounds to the human mind, dying doesn't sound very pleasant-- even if we firmly believed that God was waiting for us with open arms on the other side.

Eleazar knew what God's laws were and he was willing to die in defense to it! He willingly submitted to the torture from man, knowing full well that he was going straight into his Heavenly Father's arms.

That was like a huge wake up call for me. It has challenged me to rethink what I am about to say or do. People are watching me. People are taking note of what I say and what I do. The last thing I want to happen is that some one sins because I made the choice to honor man over God and they thought since I compromised, then they can too. Ultimately, I need to live a Christ-filled life. Striving to live a life for God ultimately leads to me doing right and leading others to God; not the other way around.

So thus I continue to live my life with the intention of doing all that is pleasing to God. I am working towards having a sincere love for God and a hate for sin not only because it separates me from God, but mainly because God Himself hates sin.

I am not what I eat -- especially true if I don't eat it.


"Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble" (1 Corinthians 8:13).