Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mischael, and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.  Then compare our appearance with the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.”  So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.  So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. Daniel 1:11-16 NIV

The book of Daniel opens with Daniel and his friends being taken into captivity by the Babylonians.  God worked it out so that the king found favor with them and treated them to the royal food that he ate.  Daniel and his friends were used to eating a healthy diet and wanted to continue to do so.  So when the king provided them with the royal food, verse 8 tells us that “Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission to not defile himself in this way.”  Now God had also worked it out so that this official favored Daniel and his friends, but he was worried that they would become emaciated and he would have to explain to the king why they were in poor health.  This is where we pick up in verse 11 with Daniel asking the servant to let them eat their way for ten days and see how things go.

Daniel resolved not to defile his body. Now I grew up in Southeast Louisiana and let me tell you, we have some good food down here.  I once heard a standup comic say “when the food at the airport is good, you know you’ll be eating well.”  We eat well.  The problem is we don’t always eat healthy.  My problem is I am a junk food junkie.  My idea of a well balanced meal is when I have a brownie to go with my Cheetos.  I also love a good Dr. Pepper.  Now all of these things are bad for me and I know it.  I go to a natural doctor and a few weeks ago, I went to her complaining of itching on my arms and not sleeping.  I got home and looked at the things she had put me on.  They were basically supplements to provide the things that I was not getting because I was not eating vegetables. Ouch!  I had to seriously assess my eating habits.  I looked at what I was eating and it was mostly carbs like breads with some cheese and a whole lot of sugary stuff thrown in there.  The closest I got to eating vegetables was the bell pepper and onion on my combination pizza.  I had to make some changes.  I changed my normal breakfast biscuit to a smoothie with greek yogurt for protein and kale and strawberries.  It actually taste better than it sounds.  I went to my favorite pizzeria and ordered their grilled chicken salad with balsamic vinegar dressing.  It’s delicious, who knew?  I even passed on the pizza.  I decided that the misery I was feeling from not eating right was not worth it.  I am happy to say that the hives I had on my arms are getting much better.  I was defiling my body.  I also have been doing some research on dementia.  I am learning that sugar is a major culprit and causes many other health problems.  Can you believe that they say that dementia can be prevented by eating a diet loaded with, you guessed it, vegetables?  Do you know that many vegetables are also believed to fight cancer?

Now in our scripture passage, Daniel and his friends are fine, strapping, young men.  They appear healthy because they take care to eat the things that are healthy.  They forego the royal food and wine for vegetables and water.  Now if you are reading this and thinking there is no way I am going to live on only vegetables and water, I hear you.  I can’t do that either.  Every now and then I have to treat myself to a piece of chocolate or the occasional snack size bag of Cheetos. But I have resolved to no longer defile my body. I have promised to God and myself that I am going to eat better and only occasionally treat myself.  Before I was regularly treating myself and only occasionally eating healthy.  I am going to see how this works in the reverse.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your bodies”.  Now this particular scripture passage is actually referring to sexual immorality, but that is another way that we dishonor God when we defile our bodies. So I encourage you this morning to take an assessment of your lifestyle.  Is there anything you need to change? I went to Weight Watchers, lost weight, got to my goal weight and kept it off for years.  I stopped going and gained the weight back after about 8 years.  One thing that helped with Weight Watchers is tracking food.  Writing down everything that I ate.  Sometimes we don’t realize the unhealthy things we are eating during the course of a day.

Now in just a few days the gyms will be overcrowded as will the Weight Watchers meetings.  People will resolve to eat healthy, exercise, and lose weight.  All I am asking you to do, is to resolve to honor God and not defile your bodies. Just follow a biblical plan for taking good care of yourself.  God gave us these bodies and it is up to us to take care of them. And don’t worry about not being able to get into the gym, 90 per cent of those people will fizzle out and quit going by mid January or early February.

Taking care of our bodies is like turning to God and giving our lives to Him.  It requires a little effort, but the pay off is huge!  So clean out your pantries, go stock up on vegetables and lean meats, dust off your bike or your running shoes and get healthy by living the way God intended for us to live.  Some of you will say that you are going to start after the New year, which is fine, but here in Louisiana everything is an eating occasion.  The New Year brings in King Cakes, followed by Valentines, followed by Easter candy, followed by 4th of July celebrations, followed by Labor Day barbecues, followed by Halloween, which brings us right back into the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season.  There is no time like the present.  Start honoring God with your bodies today!

Get healthy and have a great day and pray for me as I try to do the same!