Healthy Living - Not Just Eating

Yesterday I wrote about when I began to consider getting back to basics. My primary motivation at the time was our financial situation. Getting back to basics saved money.

 As our financial situation improved, the need to save every single little penny didn't seem as urgent. We weren't rolling in the dough (we worked for a non-profit organization, enough said) but I didn't feel the need to make my own baby wipes anymore. Gradually our kids went from homemade playdough to Hasbro Play-doh. Needless to say, I was getting away from the "every little bit counts" mentality towards "I don't have any time or patience to make my own things" mentality.

Then a friend recommended the book What the Bible Says About Healthy Living. I loved the book because it's written by a medical doctor who spells out what God told the Israelites to eat and not to eat way back when, and then he explains the medical reasons why God would say that. Even though those dietary restrictions aren't necessary today, they're still a good idea for reasons the author explains very well. It turns out, God had some good reasons to tell His people not to eat pig.

Our friend recommended it to us for the diet aspect of the book, but I got so much more than what to eat out of it. The author doesn't just limit his explanations to food. He also explains from a medical perspective why women were considered unclean during their period - and it's not just because they were bloody. Aside from that little tidbit, it got me thinking about where my food comes from. And that led me down many roads.

It made me stop and think about some things.

Roads like:

• Organic gardening
• Composting
• Rainwater collection systems
• Recycling
• Buying local produce
• Buying local, period
• Buying handmade
• Making handmade
• Slave labor
• The sex trade
• Third world economies
• Our own economy and how dependant we are as a society on companies who seem to be only concerned about the bottom line
• Companies who spend millions of dollars to lobby politicians to make policies in favor of the companies, which may or may not be beneficial to society in general
• People who boycott a car company for giving insurance to a same sex partner, but then buy products that are made by little children who are forced to work ungodly hours in awful conditions for little or no pay

They are all related.

And it's all in response to thinking about what the Bible says about healthy living. No, the author doesn't tackle all those social issues, that's just where my mind went when I started thinking about it.

Just so you know, I was not in Earth Club or anything like it growing up, so when I start talking about these things within some of the circles I am in, let's just say it wasn't comfortable to talk about. But I think it's healthy to talk about. And respond to.

Getting back to basics is more than just saving money, it's about getting back to healthy. And healthy living is not just about eating - it's about what the Bible teaches.