My first career was as a Registered Dietitian. I went to college for four years at Cal Poly University and then another year of internship at the VA Hospital and UCLA in Santa Monica. I had grandiose visions of being the Florence Nightingale of dietetics! I would devote myself to helping people learn how to experience a healthy nutritional way of life. Maybe even save lives by teaching them how to eliminate foods contributing to their illnesses and replace them with foods that their body needed to heal and stay well. In my altruistic vision, they would be so grateful that I was part of their medical team working to restore their health and help them remain in good health.
Then I went out into the real world of hospital dietetics and my idealistic aspirations met resistance reality. Instead of welcoming my guidance in food restrictions and replacements that could possibly save their life, they would rather take a pill and hope for the best. How could I expect them to sacrifice their favorite foods they “loved,” almost more than life?! They were angry, disgruntled, or dismissed me for even thinking they would make lifestyle changes to give them a better quality of life.
When I tried to engage wives to help their husbands, they also resisted that I was asking them to remove foods he “loved”! I could see in her eyes as she shook her head that she wasn’t about to tackle changing her husband’s diet. It wasn’t worth the battle and often her way of showing love was to make all the foods he loved. I literally watched wives love their husbands to death rather than love them enough to learn how to nutritiously lengthen their lives by changing their diet.
I wasn’t trying to ruin these people’s lives; I was trying to save their lives. I didn’t hate them. I loved my fellow men and women enough to help them fight for their life, often as I watched the same patients return with the same health and diet-related issues.
Eventually, the rejection and frustration became more than I could envision for the rest of my life, and I changed careers. But once a Dietitian, always a Dietitian and I practice good eating habits for my family and myself. I try to get my husband to limit his intake of “junk food” and keep his weight down, not because I hate him, but because I love him!
I want my husband to be healthy and live a long life. There are certain foods I know will harm him. I want him putting into his God-given body foods that will build him up and not tear him down. I’m not always successful in convincing him, but I love him enough to keep trying.
This is exactly the same love that Christ shows to us! He doesn’t tell us to avoid sinful actions and thoughts that will harm us because he hates us; it’s because He loves us! He wants the best for us. God sent His only Son to die on the cross to give us an opportunity to turn from our sinful ways not to revel in them.
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. John 3:16-19 NLT
There’s a false argument that lovers of sin try to use against Christians: “God loves me just like I am.” That’s Satan’s lie. Jesus never said that. Jesus does love everyone, and He accepts us where He finds us, BUT he loves us so much, He doesn’t want to leave us how He found us . . . sinning. Like the woman at the well, He tells us to go and sin no more!
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. Gal. 6:7-8 NLT
There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,[a] you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” John 3:1-3 NLT
Paul cautioned the church in Corinth:
18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Cor. 6:18-20 NLT
Paul didn’t hate the Corinthians or any of the churches when he told them that homosexuality and sexual immorality was an abomination to God and detrimental to their own bodies. Paul loved them and that’s why he was warning them to repent from their sins.
Peter told those who repented of their sins and asked God’s forgiveness that they would receive the Holy Spirit to help them live a life pleasing to God.
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38
The World’s Futile Attempt to Redefine “Love”!
Today’s culture has tried to twist the truth into attacks on anyone who doesn’t go along with abortion, LGBQT, sexual immorality, transgenderism, or now the next level of perversion is brainwashing young children into believing God made them wrong and they can be whatever gender they choose.
Liberals or “progressives” try to bully us calling us haters or not good Christians when we don’t agree to their lifestyle choices, but it’s the exact opposite. It’s out of love and wanting people to experience eternity someday and God’s plan for their life while they’re here on earth that we refuse to agree with sin or be pressured into the world’s decadent mold.
Often, they try and use God’s Word against us, especially this verse: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31. What they don’t realize is Christians are experiencing the joy and peace of repenting from our sins and receiving the forgiving love of Jesus in our life and we want it for them too. That’s truly loving your neighbor.
Parents who love their children try to protect them from harm and now the culture is even attacking parents who will not acquiesce to the world’s perversion. Schools used to be a safe and trusted place, now every day we see videos of liberal school boards and teachers trying to confuse and indoctrinate young children with harmful evil beliefs and values.
Parents tell children “No” often as they’re growing up and sometimes the children resist and might even yell, “I hate you.” That’s hard to hear as a parent, but we know it’s a childish reaction when we’re stopping them from doing something harmful or sinful. They may later thank us for loving them enough to protect them from harm or evil.
Parents who are championing or tolerating their children’s waywardness are not helping them. That’s not love, especially when we know it will lead to heartache and maybe even a separation from God. Defending evil just because our children might be indulging in it is the furthest thing from love. As I wrote in Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, we love our children unconditionally, but it doesn’t mean we love everything they do or try to justify wrongful behavior, just because our child is doing it.
God doesn’t rewrite the 10 Commandments when His children break them. He doesn’t change His views on sexual immorality, even when a government wrongfully legalizes it. He doesn’t decide that He made a mistake creating a little girl or a little boy or that He shouldn’t have designed sex and marriage to be between a woman and a man.
No matter how distorted our culture becomes God always stays the same. The Bible is His timeless guide for life until He returns to rescue us because He loves us and wants everyone to be with Him in heaven.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Heb. 13:8
It’s God’s will and His ways that should guide our life and that we should relentlessly defend regardless of those who bully us, call us names, or try to intimidate us. Our response should always be that we didn’t make up how God wants us to live our lives, God did, and He wrote it all down in the Bible.
I was so impressed with the Philadelphia Flyers hockey defenseman Ivan Provorov, who stood firm by his Russian Orthodox faith, and declined to participate in a “gay pride” event where the players wore gay pride jerseys with gay flags wrapped around their hockey sticks. The media went crazy and bullied him, many saying he was “hiding behind his religion.” He wasn’t hiding; he was staying steadfastly true to his beliefs.
Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov recently infuriated sports journalists when he refused to wear a rainbow jersey for warmups during “Pride Night,” citing his Russian Orthodox faith. “I respect everybody and I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion.”
I wonder how many Christian players succumbed to pressure and chose culture over Christ.
We’ll all have to answer to God for our actions someday and there will be no excuses or any people we acquiesce to now present then to defend us.
Jesus said Christians should be glad when we’re tormented and called names for our beliefs because the world hated Him, and they’ll hate us for being His followers. In today’s world, we should wear it as a badge of honor.
Not agreeing with someone’s sin does not mean we hate them; we love them enough to want them to turn to Jesus and not the world. Those calling us “haters” are actually haters of Jesus.
16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
The World’s Hatred
18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. 20 . . . Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. 21 They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me. 22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. 25 This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures[a]: ‘They hated me without cause.’ John 15:16-25
I often say that being an evangelist is a lot like being a Dietitian. God does have a sense of humor since He didn’t let me get away from sharing a message that isn’t always popular or appreciated. But now God is asking me to help people have a healthy spiritual life and relationship with Jesus that will lead to eternal life in heaven instead of eternal life in hell. That’s what love does, and that’s what I’ll do as long as I have breath. I hope many of you will join me. The eternal life of someone dear to you could depend on it!
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. 14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. 1 Peter 4:12-14 NLT
13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 1 Peter 3:13-15 NLT
You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They’ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you—keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God’s servant. 2 Tim. 4:3-5 The Message
If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.
Janet, this is so powerful. And so wise and true. If we took these truths to heart, we could be able to have courage to stand strong in making choices which are for other’s good, rather than being afraid of their resistance. No, we can’t force them to do anything but to whatever degree we can encourage them, we should. Keep up the great work!
Kathy, I’m so blessed you grasped the heart and soul of this blog. I hope it will encourage others to stand strong in sharing the love of Jesus, even when facing opposition. It’s what we’re called to do for love.
Excellent blog today…so much to be said regarding our moral, spiritual and physical health and the current infiltrating influences of our broken society. Let us strongly encourage one another to stand strong against the forces that go against our Christian beliefs.
Lord, have mercy on us and the many who are succumbing to the pressures of this fallen world.
GO Janet!
May we all find our strength in the Lord to welcome opportunities to share Jesus while the Lord is mercifully giving us more time than we deserve as a country and sadly as a church.
Janet…..what a timely message! Parents…..never tire of doing what is right for your child, regardless of the pressure that the evil one puts in your path. Satan has paraded around convincing individuals that taking their children to see drag queens reading stories or watching lewd dancing is a sort of entertainment. It is a tool that he uses to indoctrinate us to believe that it is harmless when, in fact, it is perverse and offensive to God. It broke my heart to hear that an Italian restaurant in Boise actually sponsors individuals in drag to perform while families dine and watch! May our heavenly Father open our eyes to see evil for what it actually is!
You’re so right Irene and I’ve written in the past about the drag travesty and perversity being exposed to children, which I also eluded to in this blog. Satan’s evil is on the rampage in our culture, government, and sadly invading some churches. Christians need to speak the truth in love but speak it loudly and clearly without intimidation, fear, or compromise. Thank you for doing just that in your comment.
Janet what a great blog!!! Regarding diet and health, I am stunned by friends who take insulin and do not even realize the risk to their eyesight, risk of neuropathy,
and amputation from their unhealthy diet. Imagine what the good doctors go through trying to help their patients!!! But also a great analogy for us to share the Gospel in love with the lost
who so frequently believe I am an American so I will be in heaven, or I am not an axe murderer, or I go to church.
The enemy is the master deceiver!
Thank you for your great work!!!
I do have a window into what the doctors go through because I experienced it as an RD and sadly it’s the same with the unsaved. The Gospel is the answer to eternal life yet so many reject it or don’t actually receive it into their heart and actions.
Thank you for the encouragement. To God be the glory.
Amen!
Thank you for your spiritual agreement, Jennifer!