Diet, Haircuts, and Shalom

So I've been going through some changes in my life recently, mostly related to what I eat, when I eat, and how much I eat.  I've done this before, when I was in a "Biggest Loser" competition a couple years ago and lost 40 pounds or so.  But this time is different, and probably because I am approaching it less like a quick fix and more like I know from the start that many of these dietary changes must become permanent.  You see, after the first round I had gone back to my normal routine for what, when, and how much I eat: whatever I want, whenever I want, and however much I want.  I'm not one of those guys who will go back to a buffet 5 times, but I eat a lot, and I eat fast.  Anyway, I had not relapsed in every way, and some changes I had made from the first round had lasted: I only drink diet sodas (albeit probably 5 of them a day), I only eat wheat bread, etc.  But very few of the changes that had helped me lose the weight had lasted.  And since my blood pressure had slowly inched back upward, along with my weight, I have realized recently that I need to make some more permanent changes to my diet and lifestyle.

Through this round of "dieting" (which I hope becomes a lifestyle and not a diet), I have realized more than I had previously that what goes in my mouth is a profoundly spiritual issue.  Just like in life I like to have what I want when I want it, so in my food consumption.  Just like I do not like to deny myself anything, so in my food consumption.  Just like if I cannot have what I really want, I will fill that gap up with all sorts of other things to make up for it, so in my food consumption.  What I eat is almost a metaphor for what is going on in my life and heart: how content I am, how much peace I have, how connected I am with the One who made me...

Beyond all of that, my wife and I were discussing the other day how much money we have probably saved by not going out to eat as much.  It's incredible if you think about it.  We Americans are in a so-called financial crisis, and yet somehow we find a way to go out to eat two or three times a week and spend an average of $10-15 per person, per meal.  We are well aware that we could eat at home, even a very nice meal, for $3-5 a person.  But it's fun to go out, and it's convenient (because we don't have to cook or do the dishes), and the food tastes good.  The fact that we are literally throwing away money for these reasons while the rest of the world struggles for rice or beans is flabbergasting.  Now I don't want to be legalistic.  A friend of mine named Josh called me on legalism the other day, and I guess there is just a fine line between speaking the truth and being legalistic.  Was Jesus being legalistic when he spoke the truth about the Pharisees being legalistic?  I don't know--and it's probably beside the point.  I am trying to say that I don't mean to be legalistic, and I don't think going out to eat is sinful.  Of course it's about moderation.  But I just don't think we are very moderate!  Even if we have the money to go out, perhaps we shouldn't, and perhaps we should be conscious of where that money could go instead.  Maybe we could all make going out to eat a treat instead of an every other day deal...

How this all relates to the Shalom of Yahweh, the perfect balance God intended when he created this world, might seem unclear.  But I think it does relate.  I think God created us not to be mastered by what we put into our mouths and stomachs, but rather he created food to be a side note, a necessary energy source to keep our physical bodies going.  Clearly he didn't want food to only be an energy source, because he gave us taste buds and made food taste good.  He wanted us to enjoy it.  So while he could have made fueling our bodies a boring, time-wasting, or even painful process, he made it really enjoyable!  However, this enjoyment has been twisted (as every other good gift has) into something different, something that even masters us, something we ruminate on and become obsessed with.  How we have distorted what our Creator had in mind!  I have heard others talk about how if we took all the wasted food in America in a year, we could feed all the hungry people in the world for years to come!  It just doesn't even make sense, does it?  For us to be bearers of the peace, the health, the balance of God, we must be on the front lines of the battle with food.  And I believe we must strive to diffuse the battle so it's not a battle.  We must come to grips with what food is, and how we are supposed to view it, and we must bring our lives into alignment with those truths.

At the very least, I think this will mean we eat less, and we eat healthier, and we eat out less.  It could also mean that we count up the money we save in a year and devote all of that money back to food, but to offering food to those who are hungry.  Maybe through a place like Compassion International.

One more thing: yesterday I gave myself a haircut with my new Oster Fast Feed Clippers (see link below).  The clippers cost me $50 with shipping, but the haircut was absolutely free.  I figure it will take me four haircuts to pay for the clippers, and after that I'm stealing haircuts!!  It got me to thinking about how we spend our money.  Ever since I started getting haircuts my parents were paying for me to get one every couple months, and since I have become an adult I've been paying for haircuts--usually at $10-15 a pop.  Think of all the money I've spent paying someone to cut my hair!  What if all that money was also not spent but dedicated back to hair, but in a way that brings the peace and wholeness of God?  Like  through buying wigs for kids with cancer, or just donating it to the families dealing with this disease?  It seems like that would be a very cool way to be a bearer of Shalom--to be a Shalomer...

Again, let me emphasize that I do not mean to be legalistic.  I know people who make the salon their mission field.  This is excellent, and another excellent way to bring Shalom.  I just want to push myself and any others who are listening away from easy answers, away from assumptions about how we "have to" spend our money.  I want to make myself think about all the ways I spend my time and money and energy while I have breath, and begin becoming a Shalomer in each action I take...