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Personnel Reflection Essay 2
Ashley Merritt
HEALTH 640: Principles of Nutrition
Dr. Annette Florence
Due: October 11, 2020
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Over the span of this course I have had the opportunity to focus on the views on my food
intake as it applies to both culture and my religion. In my view of what food gives me, I have had
a change that has made me really start focusing on my relationship with food overall. I need to
look at food as a way of supplying the fuel required for my body to go through the labors of daily
life not just to just as something to eat. After going through this course, I now view my body as a
temple and that my body needs much more in life. I find that I need to slow down and know
what I am putting into my body rather than just eat whatever I want each day. Also, me giving
my body the right food for survival and the basic necessities, this is giving me the energy to be
able to complete the exercises needed for my work, but also to fulfil God’s will for the purposes
that He has creates us for. Food is a gift from God, do not take it for granted as it may not be here
tomorrow.
Without intently reading the bible before recently, you never realize how much emphasis
is placed on food. 1 John 2:16 reads “For everything in the world the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its
desires pass away but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” I find that this bible scripture
applies to an individuals’ cravings in food. Chain food restaurants in the United States tug at our
cravings in an effort for us to buy their products, this is true because they are everywhere. This is
an easy and efficient way to get food especially when you need food quickly and when you are
on the go and do not have time to make a meal. As for Romans 12:1-2 to me it is all about
sacrifices. You do not want to just sacrifice your body; you want to keep it as your temple. You
want to keep it healthy and well nourished. As people we owe God that much as he doesn’t
request much in comparison to what he did for us all. Romans 12:1-2 stresses the importance of
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not being transformed. With this, to me I believe that God wishes for us to stay wholesome when
it comes for us to staying nutritious our body spiritually as well as nutritionally.
Proverbs 23:19-21 has a controversial view for me when it comes to nutrition. In line 20
when it states “Do no join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat” I find
that meat is very healthy, and a lot of individuals now are protein deficient and do not intake
enough meat, so this is controversial. Too much meat yes could be detrimental to the human
body, but they’re diets that can be completely carnivore diets which according to the bible are
against the religion, but I find that it is hard to have too much meat, I do agree to the too much
wine though. Proverbs 22:1-12 I do believe that this scripture can to relate to culture views on
health directly when it states, “Start children off on the way they should go.” I interpret this as
you should teach your children the importance of righteousness and health and it will stay with
them forever or we pray that it will stay with them forever. Too often families teach their
children that fast food and unhealthy foods are the right options and that’s why Americans are
obese, and they carry this behavior with them into adulthood and then teach their children this
behavior. Revelation 18 strains the significance of unclean living and in my interpretation
translates to unhealthy eating. Live a health life, don’t lie, and live happy.
My cultural views on food have changed tremendously. I have changed the way I eat
because I now eat specifically what is good for me, with only a treat every so often. I have learn
that God has a reasoning to eat the right foods and that my body is a temple and I should not take
that for granted. I also have learned that God provides us with food as a mean for providing us
with energy to do the things he calls us to do along with calling for forgiveness if we do have a
slip up every once in a while as a way for showing his love for us. This helps me remember
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never to feel guilt for what I am eating and to enjoy everyday life and that gratification that
comes with it and that God loves me no matter what.
In Eat, Pray, Grow, the individual decided that she needed to God first instead of rushing
to add him in. She needed to stop rushing to put her bible study group into her busy schedule and
needed to plan it out more. She needed to spend more time with her nutrition as well after
realizing that her health wasn’t doing well instead of just getting pre-packaged food. This relates
to my life so well right now. I have been so busy lately with just going that I haven’t been able to
focus on my body and have just gone to pre-packaged food again. The individual said, “That
wasn’t how I wanted to handle physical or spiritual eating, so I had to make some changes.”1
They finally had time with their busy schedules to sit down and realize both what they needed
and what God though they would need. In Matthew 4:4 Jesus reminds us, “Man does not live on
bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”1 We all need God to push us
through and never stop. We need him to guide us through and keep pushing. Even when we are
busy we need to find time to sit and reflect on our busy schedules. I have finally sat down and
planned out my meals for the week and made sure I had time to make my grocery list. Also, in
the article just as we use the healthy food pyramid to know the types of food to eat, we can use
Scripture to guide what we ingest spiritually.1 I couldn’t agree with this more, this is something
that will continue to stick with me.
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References:
1. Byrd S. Eat, pray, grow: God used something unusual to get my attention about my soul:
food. Today’s Christian Woman. 2009;31(5): 34–36. https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?
id=GALE
%7CA207779823&v=2.1&u=vic_liberty&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=90e25dd67cee9
84ec6cf30cedf953e5c. Accessed October 9, 2020.
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