A Sick World

The headline said, “How Western Diets Are Making the World Sick.” Canadian physician Dr. Kevin Patterson discovered, while working in Kandahar, Afghanistan, that Afghan adults undergoing surgery typically weighed around 140 pounds and had no fat under their skin. But the internal organs of Westerners who were operated on were typically encased in fat. Dr. Patterson could literally see the difference.

Discussing type 2 diabetes, which was rare just 70 or 80 years ago but has risen dramatically with the rise in obesity, Dr. Patterson noted that indigenous populations in such places as the Arctic Circle and the Marianas Islands in the Pacific are contracting Western diseases as a result of consuming the unhealthy Western diet.* When God led His people out of Egypt, He promised to keep them safe from the diseases of the Egyptians if they followed His instructions.

The Egyptians of that time were dying of many of the lifestyle diseases we suffer from today. Tests on mummies have revealed that ancient Egyptians had heart disease and cancer and suffered strokes, often the result of lifestyle choices. But the Israelites, who followed God’s plan, were healthy for the forty years they wandered in the wilderness. Why would we choose to be ill when God says that if we follow His plan, we are going to be healthier? This is not to say Christian believers are exempt from getting sick. But people thrive when they get with God’s program and take care of their health. Good health is often simply a matter of choice. The Bible urges you to make choices that honor God. In cases where poor health practices are deeply ingrained, God can be looked to as the source of power to change. Some illnesses cannot be avoided.

Cancer, stroke, and other diseases often strike randomly.

But honoring God with your body gives you a far greater chance of living a long, healthy life.