It's amazing how many things are written today about how our lives can be improved. I find it ironic that there are so many health gurus out there, and most of them can't agree on some pretty fundamental stuff. I saw an article yesterday on how actor Ashton Kutcher was taken to the hospital with pancreatic issues for following a "fruitarian" diet (a subset of veganism). He was doubled over in pain. Also ironic is that he was trying to "get into character" in doing so. He is starring in a film about Steve Jobs who (how ironic is this going to get?) died of pancreatic cancer. On the flip side, there's fellow Los Angeles famous dude Kobe Bryant, who follows a traditional diet but makes sure that his beef is grass-fed and his eggs from free-range chickens. He's 35 and still playing ridiculous basketball (which is more necessary than ever for the Lakers these days).
There's also, in contrast to Kobe "Beef" Bryant (hardy har har), guys like Herschel Walker and Tony Gonzalez... vegetarians. Walker is actually pushing 50 and still looks like he could lace 'em up and hit someone. Seriously, he still is (apparently) doing his famous 3,500 sit-ups and 1,500 pushups per day, plus squats and running, and trains in Mixed Martial Arts.
These athletes are amazing specimens. On the normal human side of things (average Joes like myself), we're given a lot of advice on how to be healthy and well-nourished. As I read through Genesis 2 today, I got dwelled a bit on the subject of health. The Man and the earth itself had a nourishment plan.
For people, what is obvious enough is that they were given a basic vegan diet to subsist on at first: fruits, nuts, grains, vegetables (water would be the drink of choice, I'd think). The combination would make for enough protein, vitamins, minerals, etc., to sustain a balanced life. A side note might be added, that is that those plants in the Garden of Eden may not have been like what we have now, so I'm not sure we can compare "apples-to-apples" here (now's plants vs. then's plants). Also, our bodies have likely changed quite a bit. We aren't 14 feet tall anymore and we can't live 900+ years as-is.
Consider how different life would be if that plan was still in place. We'd be a lot... I mean a LOT healthier people. Doctors? No need. Medicine--zippo. I imagine a diet that would be extremely flavorful and colorful. Considering what you have to do to cook anything (destroy something dead for a fire, for instance), I imagine that eating raw would be incredible (compared to today, when the thought of some raw plants doesn't sound appealing at all... raw soybeans, anyone? OK, maybe for some people...).
Also, if there was no predatory instincts. No need to kill anything for food, or prevent life from emerging (such as for eggs). The very relationship between people and between people and animals would be drastically different. I wonder what kind of teeth sharks would have if... well, I digress.
Think of how earth itself was nourished. Dew. Springs of water. Water gives life to earth even today. But how? Rain. Springs have something to do with it, but not like they did in Genesis 2. It says there that God hadn't sent any rain yet. Today, we need rain. But with rain comes calamity. Storms. Lightning and thunder, hail and sleet and snow, tornadoes and hurricanes. And we have to have these things or we don't have any life either.
When I get a glimpse into how good things were before sin, it should make me mourn sin all the more. But it should also give me hope into how good things will be, for the end of the Bible teaches of an earth made new... creation re-newed. To see how good it was is to see how good it will be.
Lord, help me to take care of this body, as much as possible, according to Your plan--how I'm nourished, and how I work and exercise. Help me to also take care of this earth, as much as possible, according to Your plan. Help me to experience the results of doing so, and to see the earth itself around me benefit from this. You gave us something so amazing! Teach me to celebrate it with gusto!
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