So whether you eat or drink
or whatever you do,
do it all for the glory of God
 

God’s Body by Design
by J.R.Smith

According to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of nutrition is the assimilation of food. How simple is that? According to God, the definition of nutrition is eating to His glory ( 1^st Corinthians 10:31). And what is exactly eating to His glory? It is putting only godly food and support nutrients into your body that will help you improve your health, fitness, strength, endurance and any positive enhancements you can make to your body without violating the temple of the Holy Spirit (which is your body) which will make you a better Christian and witness for the Lord.

 It is my desire, my hope and vision to help you, the bodybuilder, fitness competitor or fitness enthusiast that loves the Lord Jesus Christ, learn how to eat to the glory of the Lord, while packing on muscle and burning fat. But I know there are some of you out there right now that may be thinking to yourself, “I am a Christian but I didn’t think God wanted to bless my nutrition plan.” Oh, yes you better believe He does. Go back and read 1^st Corinthians 10:31 and see what it really says. It ends up saying..”whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” I think bodybuilding and fitness competitions fall into that category. .

Over the years I have had many Christians email me or call me with the concern that they love bodybuilding and competing but they have a hard time dealing with the carnality of the sport; having to be near naked on stage to show off their hard work which is their body. All too often these Christians think God is not happy with them because the way they have to compete. But I assure you that God is very happy with you to be a bodybuilder. The half naked thing doesn’t bother Him because if you will remember, He made you and He knows what you look like.

Now, I do believe He would have a problem if you were up on a stage and slithering all around a pole and dancing or wearing a thong (if anything) and making hundreds of dollars a night “putting it in somebody’s face”. That does not glorify Him and does create problems for others; problems such as lust and adultery. But as a former competitive bodybuilder myself, and having attended lots of contests, I can tell you for the most part, people are there for the competition, not to drool over the hottest body. Granted there are those there who do that, but the majority do not. And besides that, there is as much carnality, lust and adultery if not more that goes on in many other sports and there are Christians there as well. So don’t give this a second thought but in all things pray if it still bothers you then follow what you feel the Lord is leading you to do.

This column is all about godly performance nutrition and supplements. I think it is important for everyone to understand some basic scriptural truths about how our creator wants us to eat. There are just way too many goofy gimmicks and diet fads running amok in our nation and our sport, and if you read some of these big bodybuilding magazines, you will know what I mean. We have a problem with having too many choices. Dr. Fred Hatfield calls too many choices, “hyperchoice” which means we just have too much to choose from. How do you know what works and what doesn’t? How could you ever take the time to study each “diet” and apply it to your life and give it enough time to see if it works? You can’t. Hyperchoice creates confusion and if you know anything at all you will know that the devil is the author of confusion.

But each and every month, just like clock work, all the hottest and best selling magazines hit the news stands and just like clock work, to keep you coming back each and every month, I promise you will see a new “build a bigger chest” or “How to build killer legs” or “Get a ripped six pack” routine of the month along with the hottest diet and supplement ads gracing those pages in those muscle magazines. But thank you Jesus, this is going to be different. You see, because God is truth, we don’t have to re-package it differently each and every month to make it exciting and to keep you coming back. What was exciting from the beginning is still just as exciting today. God never changes – He is the same, yesterday, today and forever

Now I have the opportunity to make a difference and share some truths with you that will expose the myths and lies you are being fed every day by savvy marketers and ad people. The Bible states boldly, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” That is exactly what I plan to do here and hopefully it will set you free from all that “Stinkin’ Thinkin’” that riddles our sport.  

Since this is an introductory column, I wanted to give you an overview of how I see nutrition and what I would love to see happen in our sport and with godly sports nutrition. We in the fitness and bodybuilding industry have gone through so much trial and error over the years that our bodies get worn out just trying to get better with each new week, each new routine, each new diet plan. The Bible says in Proverbs 16:25 the following: “There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death.” Don’t’ you get tired of doing the same ol’ thing over and over hoping it will make you better with each passing day only to find you have progressed no further than that of a slug trying to crawl from LA to Miami in a day’s journey? Impossible!!!!
 

I think it was Albert Einstein who coined the phrase; “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome each time.” Isn’t that what man does? Think about it for a moment. All the ads you see in magazines, on t.v. and hear on the radio are all promoting the same old recycled stuff only with a different twist to it. The reason why is, most of us keep looking in the wrong place and although this stuff doesn’t work, there is something comforting about familiarity. It may be wrong and we know it doesn’t work, but it is comfortable. Silly, isn’t it?

 But God has a plan and it is perfect. It has been tried and proven since the beginning of time – His time.

 Man always thinks he’s got everything figured out; science has proven this or proven that; research shows this and it shows that. But when it is all said and done, ultimately it will be God’s Holy Truths that will end up winning the contest on the stage and in life each and every day. And ultimately that is what we must remember; life is not about bodybuilding but rather bodybuilding is about life. It is there to make us better people, better planners, better Christians. Everything we do is to glorify God; everything. And God does have a better plan especially when it comes to eating.  
 

God’s eating plan is perfect; it has no flaws. His plan will keep you healthy, reverse disease, improve daily and athletic performance, strip fat and build muscle, help you think clearly and actually help you hear from God more clearly. Yeah, a godly nutrition plan will actually help improve your prayer life and hearing from God; food as a conductor for better communication – who would have thought it?

 I do have to warn you though, there are going to be some limitations to this plan. You are going to have to eliminate things out of your diet that are simply not good for you. Does that mean you can never have another soft drink? No, it doesn’t. Well, except during pre-contest. Can you have a cookie? Yes you can, except during pre-contest. The point I am trying to make is that God wants you to enjoy life and He is the one who gave you taste buds. He made food and every kind of it for you to live off of and to enjoy. It is man who has interfered and made food bad. As long as you understand that, then you will find the transition over to Eating For the Glory of God to be an easier undertaking. And it will help you be a better athlete as well and ultimately, as a competitor, this is what you are currently looking for.
 

 The information I am going to use for this column will come from many sources, one of which will be the Bible itself. You would be surprised at what the Bible says about food. I was blown away when I began to do my research for my biblical principles to God’s nutrition plan. I think you will be surprise also. But I am also going to draw from other experts in the field also. I will use a lot of Doctor Ted Broer’s research, Dr. Jordan Rubin, and the many physicians that are responsible for the new book, The New Glycemic Revolution. This is incredible information that will absolutely just blow your mind when it comes to the science of godly nutrition.

 So with that, I am going to close for this month. Next month I am going to give you the basics of godly nutrition. This will build the foundation on which we will launch a brand new way of eating to build muscle and strip fat. And you will never go hungry again. Since hunger is not part of God’s plan, it doesn’t make sense to be in that state ever again as many people stay hungry just trying to lose a few pounds. Of course pre-contest is a bit different but more on that later.

 In the meantime, I hope you enjoy God’s Body by Design and if you have any questions, you can reach me via email at bodyfit2day@hotmail.com

 God bless you and may God bless all the works of you hands (and barbells!) 

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