God told me to what?

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And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. ~ Genesis 1:29

Now for folks much more spiritual than me, you might have known this for quite some time. However, this was major news to me.  It’s kind of like the time when I found out that the rainbow was a token of God’s covenant with us to never again destroy the earth with a flood.  It was not until my early 20’s that I discovered the good news of the rainbow, but it has forever changed the way that I look at that beautiful bow that God hangs from the sky.

And though I have read the book of Genesis numerous times, it was not until the summer of 2012 that I decided to find out what God thinks of food.  I didn’t know where to start, so I thought I would just start at the beginning.

So I crack open the Bible and right there in the first chapter . . . Wham!  How did I miss this simple truth.  Probably because I wasn’t paying attention, I’m sure.  But now, I’m like a sponge.  There it is in black and white.  God’s original intention was for you and me to eat the “herb bearing seed” and the “fruit of a tree yielding seed.”

So what is God trying to tell us?  He gave us fruits and vegetables for you and me to gobble up!  Now I guess you probably realize that fruits and veggies are here for our consumption.  That in itself is not a shocking revelation.

However, when I went on to read the rest of the chapter, I just knew that God was going to say something like, “Oh by the way, besides broccoli and asparagus, knock yourself out on some fried chicken and meat loaf.”  But the all-you-can-eat-buffet was apparently not His original intent.

OK, God!  So where does the bacon and hamburgers come in? I just assumed that surely the answer would be immediately following the verse about us eating the plants and animals, right?  Oh now, not only were you and I created to eat the fruits and veggies, so were the animals!  How can this be, God?  You sentence mankind to a life of roughage, and now you’re telling us that all the poor animals have to suffer too?

I guess it probably doesn’t bother the cow.  Most cows look happy grazing on grass, but what about the poor lion?  He probably was not happy either.  Add a little salt to a zebra, and it’s probably a lot tastier than a cucumber.

And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. ~ Genesis 1:30

God’s first instructions to man involving food have absolutely NOTHING to do with us eating the animals!  What should you and I take from this?

  1.  First, fruits and vegetables must be very important since God intended for this to be our original source of food.
  2. Second, every available nutrient and macro-nutrient that you and I need can be found in the fruits and vegetables that God has given us to eat.
  3. Third, we would be wise to include fruits and vegetables into our daily lives.

For our Bible scholar friends that are waving their hands in the air and screaming to get my attention, I know what you’re going to say.  I know, I know.  The fall of man comes and everything changes.  Fast forward to the New Testament and things change a little more.  Don’t worry.  We will touch on all of that later.  (I also have a very strong hypothesis that if God had not meant for us to eat animals, then he wouldn’t have made them taste so good.)

For now, let’s just absorb this first chapter of God’s Word and keep an open mind. Here’s what I take from Genesis 1 regarding food:

  • God made fruits and veggies for you and me to eat;
  • God thought they were good;
  • You and I should eat fruits and vegetables;
  • If God thinks they’re good, they most certainly are.
  • I want the Good Things that God has in store for me.

Fruits and vegetables come in many shapes and sizes.  And, you can find every color in the rainbow in the beautiful fruits and veggies that God has placed upon this earth.  So the next time you look at a particular vegetable and think “gross” . .   think again.  For me, I’ll never look at them quite the same again. Quick, somebody hand me a carrot!

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.  Feel free to email me at bobby@fedupforlife.com or comment below.