What About the Beignets?

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1 NIV

I'm guessing beignets would not fall in the category of sacrifice, or Oreos or frostys. I've been in New Orleans and having been sick for about 3 weeks now, this is the first week I've been hungry. Great city to be hungry in. If you want food, this is the place to be. Everyday we are inundated with healthy living and eating advice and we can take heart that it's rooted in ancient history as evidenced by this verse.

But what is the writer really driving at? Let's remember what our purpose is..to be a servant of Christ by serving others.  So can we properly emulate Christ if we are dealing with an alcohol problem? Or drugs, or an addiction to food? If we are governed by physical aspects our bodies have no room for Christ, and it is in us where his Spirit lives. If we are unhealthy we cannot serve others. This verse is a call for us to be ready to serve, to keep ourselves as healthy as possible. It's a parallel for going to work. You make sure you are ready for work every day, that you're in generally good health and able to do the work you are paid for. It's the same with our service to Christ. We must be ready and able to do the work he has called us to do.

So get out there, eat a beignet, then take a walk. It is, after all, about balance.