I’ve noticed a shift in health culture over the last few years.
Before, being “crunchy” was more rare. I remember days when the idea of raising your own chickens or doing away with plastic containers seemed “weird.”
Since then I’ve noticed a big shift. Granted, my perspective is skewed, and my circles are definitely more naturopathic than the normal. But it seems so much more trendy and accepted to homestead and live a “crunchy” lifestyle now than it was just a few years ago.
You can see the evidence in grocery stores: EVERY brand is launching “high protein” versions of their product. And at least for me, almost all the influencers I follow post content about the healthy alternatives their family uses.
I’ve also seen that a Christian lifestyle has become synonymous with homeschooling, homesteading, and focusing on health.
I grew up in a pretty “crunchy” home myself, so the concept doesn’t scare me.
I’m careful about a lot of things in my home now: plastic in the microwave, cotton sheets, organic produce, supplements, reading ingredient labels.
I see nothing wrong with seeking to be more healthy. In fact, it’s clear God tells us to take care of our bodies, because they are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
BUT, while I see many families taking intentional steps toward better physical health (which is good), I see them completely disregarding mental and spiritual health. And it’s concerning to me.
**I also want to note for those with allergies + specific health concerns, this doesn’t really apply! It’s necessary in your position to adjust what you’re exposed to.
The focus has been placed on your body: how many seed oils you’re consuming, how many microplastics are leaking into your body, how well you’re sleeping, how many chemicals you’re being exposed to, how much toxic air you’re breathing, how you’re exercising, the water you’re drinking.
And to be honest, the resounding emotion I hear hiding behind all these health concerns is fear.
You might argue, well of course it is. It’s scary thinking about all the toxins in your body. And you’re right, it is. I’m not arguing that we stop caring.
But I am arguing that we stop ignoring the mental and spiritual side effects this extreme focus on our physical health can bring. I am arguing for a more holistic approach to health.
33% of adults report that stress affects their health. A high-stress, high-impact perception linked to a 43% increased risk of premature death. Chronic stress affects 75%–90% of all doctor visits. [Source]
I’m not sharing this to add to your growing list of things to worry about, I’m sharing this to highlight how stressing about your physical health can hurt your physical health.
Specifically with diet, my concern is for children who are told to fear a large amount of foods growing up. Instead of giving children a healthy understanding of how food impacts how we feel, we’ve given them our fear. Eat that, and you’ll get cancer. Eat this, and you’ll gain weight.
The result is rampaging eating disorders, poor self image, and severe anxiety when children are anywhere but their homes for a meal.
I personally believe those mental side effects are far worse than the bad foods they could be eating.
I also find it strange how many of the “crunchy” families I’ve known are so resistant to therapy.
I cannot rave about therapy enough. It has changed my life. Not a single person goes through life unscathed. And when you don’t have the tools to process healthily, you will struggle. Not just in your relationships or how you feel emotionally. But the physical health you hold so highly will suffer, too.
Let’s not forget the spiritual impacts. As a Christian, YES, we are called to care for our bodies. If we are the hands and feet of Christ, our bodies should be well equipped to kneel and serve at any given moment.
But on the other hand, we are not the gods of our lives. And the truth is, you cannot control every aspect of your health or physical image. Tragedies happen, life can end in moment. The very life we are given is a gift. And we cannot hold it. We cannot control when we die, or whether we will get a disease, or what genetics we have. There are diseases that rest on the healthiest individuals, for no reason we can discern.
Only one person is in control of it all, and He is God.
Do you think when boils broke out on Job’s skin, he questioned if beef tallow would have prevented it? Did Jesus look down his nose at the ill and say “you should have had a more balanced diet”?
Matthew 6:25-27 says “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?“
Then in verse 31, Jesus says, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Doesn’t that pierce your heart?
We’ve lost the plot.
The plot was never about making our bodies perfect. It was never about doing our research, poking holes in what the government tells us, fighting against the goliaths in the food industry, reading every ingredient label, obsessing over every item your home in an attempt to control your life.
Zoom out. What is the most important?
I believe true health doesn’t just obsess over the physical, but equally acknowledges the mental and spiritual as well. You cannot be healthy by eating organic, non-toxic foods and then sinning in secret. You cannot be healthy by removing all the plastic from your kitchen and then shoving your emotions under a rug. You cannot be healthy by removing fragrances and toxins from your home, and then lashing out in anger at the first person who inconveniences you.
If microplastics and seed oils toll on your health, then secret sin and unhealed wounds toll more.
If your spiritual health is a rock foundation, your physical health is just a sandcastle. You can spend hours shaping your sandcastle, carving little rivets into the sides, etching doors and spires. Maybe you even decorate it with a few sea shells.
But the tide is coming. And one day, it’ll wash your sandcastle away.
What remains when your sandcastle is gone? A rock foundation? Or nothing?
I’m passionate about this because it’s so prevalent in the lives of so many I know, and I want more for them. We don’t need to live in fear, terrified that one bad food could sentence us to chronic illness or disease. Where is the trust in God, the peace that passes understanding?
You know what was bad for Peter’s health? Hanging upside down on a cross. You know what was bad for the Israelites’ health? Eating an unbalanced diet of quail and manna for 40 years straight. You know what was bad for Jesus’ health? Fasting for 40 days in the wilderness.
Your physical health is not the most important thing to God.
As a Christian, we should always be examining ourselves and our convictions. Do they align with scripture? Or do they align with culture?
I believe there is a way to balance both: being intentional about your physical health, while investing in your mental and spiritual health as well. But what I see currently, the fear and anxiety, it isn’t right.
God loves you more than you could ever love yourself. Trust He knows what you need. I mean, what you really need. It might not be what you expect or want. But He knows better than you do. And regardless of what’s going on with your physical health, He’s caring for you, even here.
If you read this far, thank you. And if I offended you a bit, know it’s all coming from a place of love. Our health is a personal thing. I just believe no matter what you hold, God extends peace as a gift. And I encourage you to take it.
Have a lovely weekend! Bye🫶