Are You A Flexitarian?

 

Are you interested in being a vegetarian, but concerned you might not be able to adjust? Not to worry! You can become a “flexitarian”. As vegetarianism gains in popularity and increases its market niche, a variation has developed. The flexitarian is a person who eats primarily vegetables, but also indulges occasionally with meat. The designation fits people like the 28 year-old who says, “I usually eat vegetarian …and I really like sausage. Sometimes I feel like I’m a bad vegetarian …not strict enough or good enough. I really like vegetarian food, but I’m just not 100% committed.”

[Proverbs 16:9, 25] If Paul had thought like some today, he would have written to the Ephesians like this: “Paul, the apostle, to the saints in Ephesus. Brethren, I rejoiced when I went into the theater in your city to behold the shows. The play of Aristophanes was a magnificent story of a man who overcame poverty and poor health as a child to become a famous warrior in Greece. Such zeal! Such courage! I commend this show to the church for your edification, for Christians can learn much from it. Yes, a pagan influence prevailed during the performance. The crowd praised Zeus and blasphemed God. The actors took God’s name in vain and poured out filthy words. The women on stage displayed their nakedness with immodest apparel. But be of good cheer, brethren! Evil associations will not corrupt good morals if you look for the good and ignore the bad.” Who can imagine Paul writing such words? Plays and concerts were common forms of entertainment in the ancient world of the New Testament. People then had no televisions, giant screen movie houses, or epic sound systems, but still they enjoyed drama and music. Perhaps not all of these shows were bad, but many were. In the second century Tertullian, a prolific early Christian author from Carthage, wrote, Greek drama was filled with scenes of lust and perversion. He scolded “the father who carefully protects and guards his virgin daughter’s ears from every polluting word” and yet “takes her to the theater himself, exposing her to all its vile words and attitudes.” Shows then were no different than movies today.

The Bible teaches that what you put into your mind affects you. The cares, riches, and pleasures of this life choke the Word of God in our hearts (Luke 8:14). “…What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean” (Mark 7:20-23). Truly as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. “As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man” (Proverbs 27:19). A Christian who denies this is arguing in vain. We can no more put rotten food into our stomachs without feeling the effects than we can put ungodliness into our minds without weakening our faith. The old warning, “You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice…” (Exodus 23:2) often goes unheeded by God’s people. Others place pressure on us to go along with the consensus of the world. “Have you watched this movie? You’ll love it!” Everybody seems to be excited about it and few are concerned about the sex scenes and God’s name being taken in vain. “But I don’t pay any attention to the bad parts. I look for the redeeming qualities.” That’s like rummaging through a dumpster looking for a penny. Are you a “Flexitarian?” Sounds like a want-to-be “Christian” …but not if they have to “deny themselves” an occasional dip into sin (Matthew 16:24-27).