"Affording" Healthy Food and the Myth of Convenience

I found this great exhortation on the facebook group Healthy Families for God and had to share. I was thinking about this issue the other day, and was humored that I ran into her post.

People often say, on the topic of prioritization, "You always have time for the things you want to do." The same definitely extends to the issue of money and food. "You always have money for the things you want to buy." 

We spend money on all sorts of peripheral things; we devote time to all sorts of non-essentials - and then declare resolutely that we don't have the money or time to cook real foods or prepare nourishing meals (or even to pray, or study the word, or serve at church... ad infinitum).

So Sara pretty much hits the mark dead on: the proof of our priorities is in the "pudding." If wholesome food and long-term wellness are priorities for us and our families, we will find the financial allocation, the energy, and the prep-time necessary to make it part of our lifestyles. If it isn't, we'll continue to coast on the illusion of convenience and our family's health will reap the results. We have more agency in the grocery aisles than we realize. It really is up to us. 

Sara Jo Poff from HFFG: 

"'Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.' Ephesians 5:17 MSG

If I had a dollar for every time people tell me that they can't afford to buy "organic" or "healthy" food, I could probably have fed "organic" food to half of the starving families in Africa by now.

The truth of the matter is, it comes down to priorities. If car payments, smart phone/Kindle/iPhone, expensive hobbies, and dining out are a priority, then it's not about being able to afford real food. It's about not seeing the need for it, and/or wanting to spend that money on something else that provides more immediate gratification.

Our culture revolves around instant gratification. We can't wait to feel better when we're sick, so instead of waiting on God, we turn to drugs.

When we want something that we can't afford, we take out a line of credit instead of saving up money.

When we choose the foods we eat, we often choose the ones that are cheap, addictive, already prepared, and immediately satisfying.

And we say it's because we can't afford real food, or we don't have time to prepare it, or that God can heal us through drugs instead since it has more immediate results.

'They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.' Philippians 3:19 NIV

All along, we could be experiencing, in God's time, God's power of healing, God's financial provision, and God's foods. And best of all, the intimacy in a relationship with God that comes from those things! But instead, we end up with new illnesses as side effects of drugs, financial debt, and even less money for God's foods.

I plead with you, friends, to look at what you are missing out on when you choose the instant gratification this world offers over the blessings and power of God the Father!

And in the meantime, please don't tell me that you can't afford real food or don't have the time to prepare it. Just be honest and tell me that it's not a priority (yet)."