What Will We Eat?

Our friendship and premarital relationship with my dear friend so filled the mind and heart with various romantic experiences that we did not want at all to be distracted by the various particulars of our life activity. I did not think about food at all, because all my main thoughts were about her. Sometimes I ate at my parents’, sometimes at friends’, and mostly I bought fruit and ready-made semi-finished products at the store and quickly improvised something, not worrying about cooking. And when we met for personal fellowship, food interested me least of all, since there were more important matters. We enjoyed spending mealtime in cozy little eateries where we could sit at a table and look at each other to understand whom we were dealing with.

We had been taught by God to eat clean food, and this question was not even discussed by us. As for the rest, we were unpretentious and undiscriminating.

When creating a family, we did not touch on the question of nutrition, assuming that everything was fine with us in this regard, but the Lord kept drawing our attention to the fact that ignorance concerning eating can negatively affect our relationship with Him. My body, in turn, kept sending me warnings that something in my diet was not right. At times drowsiness would come upon me, at times excessive internal gas formation would begin, at times my stomach would cramp, at times my head would not think at all. And I ascribed all this to random processes beyond my control.

But the Lord did not leave us to live in our ignorance and sent us the light of a dietary reform. Although we had heard about this before and knew something, at one moment I came to a sharp realization that radical changes needed to be made in my diet. I voiced my thoughts to my wife, and she supported me, answering that she often thought about this as well. We decided to sort this matter out together and asked in prayer for wisdom from above.

It turned out that on this topic the Lord had already sent so much light that one could study the laws of health and nutrition from morning till evening. And some things were so clear and easy in practice that we decided to implement them in our lives immediately.

First of all, we wished to put the refrigerator in order and sort out our dishes. All store-bought products were checked for the presence of chemical additives; suspicious and dangerous semi-finished products were identified, and our trash can helped us solve this interesting task.

As a result of the investigation, we discovered that our plastic electric kettle was the most dangerous kitchen appliance, which, when boiling, releases so many poisons into the water we drink from it that we became uneasy. We immediately decided to replace it with a metal one without internal seams, but the best and safest option turned out to be a kettle with an enamel coating that must be heated on gas.

All plastic bowls and cups into which we put hot food we decided, as far as possible, not to use, but to replace them with glass or porcelain.

In the matter of the safest food, we came to a unified conclusion that the safest food is that:

1. Which we ourselves have grown in our own garden, which we did not yet have.

2. That which we ourselves have prepared, knowing the composition and the method of preparation.

We understood that, being believers, we trust the integrity of the producer and as it were believe that they think about our health. But as we studied this issue, we realized that business and the desire to make a profit with minimal costs push many producers toward various bad things that can subsequently cause us serious ailments and various diseases.

Although we could not immediately abandon everything, we decided to minimize all possible risks to reasonable limits.

We were helped by the books of the Spirit of Prophecy, in which the Lord very clearly showed many principles in the taking and preparation of food. In our family we decided to be guided by this light.

We had already been taught that when visiting our relatives it is necessary to discuss our diet in advance and ask them to take our tastes into account. But we decided that such a reform would concern only our home, and we would not impose our new principles on anyone.

We considered that when we buy and cook food ourselves, though it takes more time, it is much cheaper than if we continue to eat in eateries of unknown fare and preparation.

My wife decided to improve her culinary knowledge by learning this craft from our brethren who had learned much before us and are now engaged in instructing others. And even in these courses we are guided by common sense and the light that the Lord has given us during our research. We also understood that the best drinking water is not that which flows from the tap, but fresh water that nature gives. But it also should first be tested to ensure it is clean and safe.

We plunged headlong into the science of drinking and eating and understood that it rewards with health those who master it and apply it correctly.

We became discerning and prudent people regarding what gets onto our plates. We also decided not to take an interest in or comment on the contents of other people’s plates and refrigerators, or even the plates of each other.

Our food must be not only wholesome but also nourishing. It would be quite wrong to give up everything we are accustomed to eating and not replace it with anything. We began to study what this or that product contains, what it loses and gains during processing, and what our bodies need and in what quantities.

It was also revealed to us that it is better to make healthy sweets ourselves rather than buy them, so as not to deprive our bodies of life forces and health.

Our food must be not only nourishing but also tasty, attractive, have an aromatic smell, and arouse a healthy appetite. Here we have much to learn. We decided to acquire beautiful tableware and dinner sets so that the setting of our table would also inspire us.

We also understood that our food, with all its benefits and taste, must be consumed moderately and on a schedule. We decided to eliminate snacking between meals and not to serve dozens of different dishes at one time.

Our research on the matter of nutrition took many months of intense struggle with our appetite, which included the search for wise solutions, understanding various interconnections between the stomach and the mind, reverting to old ways, a fanatical approach, upset stomach, and spoiled mood. But the Lord each time lifted and encouraged us and invited us to go further. Although for you, friends, all this has fit into a short message.

We understood that the laws of health and nutrition are given to us by the Same God Who once said, “Thou shalt not kill.” And the violation of such commands can cost us very dearly.

Now, when we enter stores where the counters are bursting with beautiful packaging, we are not interested in what does not nourish and what destroys, and God’s principles inscribed in our hearts prompt us as to what is clean and safe. And to the question, “What will we eat?” we always have a wholesome and tasty answer for ourselves and for our guests.

1. Please read Prov. 2:2–11; Eccl. 5:11–19; Prov. 23:1–3, 6–8; Rom. 14:15–17; 1 Cor. 8:9; John 21:9; Luke 12:29–32; Isa. 55:1–2; Lev. 11:44–47; Amos 3:3; 1 Cor. 19:22 in light of this lesson.

2. What did you understand from this topic?

3. What other Bible verses came to your memory?

4. Read 1 Tim. 4:1–5. Do these verses give permission to eat everything? Does the Word of God sanctify every kind of food?

5. Is it worth watching what enters my stomach and what the quality of that product is?

6. Can the verse in 1 Cor. 10:25 be permission to buy and eat everything indiscriminately: “Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question for the sake of conscience”?

7. What is the purpose of dietary reform in the family?

8. Is it worth heeding the warnings of the Spirit of Prophecy about the importance of proper nutrition?

9. Is Heaven interested in what lies on our plates?

10. Is righteousness imputed to us through knives and forks?

11. Should dietary reform be adopted into one’s life if other family members are against it?

12. Should we trust all producers and assume that they release high-quality and wholesome food?

13. What food is considered the safest and most beneficial?

14. Does the dietary reform in your life extend only to your home, or should it be observed everywhere?

15. If nutrition does not save me, then why deprive myself of the joy of gustatory pleasures?