Optimal, Acceptable, Avoid & Omit
So many times we wonder if it is okay to have that cookie the neighbor offered, or should I let my son stay up late to visit a relative passing through. General questions relating to our lifestyle and what should or shouldn't’t we do comes up often. Well as Jim and I discussed and studied the matter, it comes down to four categories: optimal, acceptable, avoid, and omit.
The optimum lifestyle is what we all should be aiming for on a regular basis. This is where the Maker of our bodies would have us to have full health both body and mind. Such things as be in bed by 9:00pm each night, eat a completely vegetarian diet, eat simple foods as close to natural as possible, avoid sugar, and so on. I will not give an exhaustive list, because I think each person must search it out for themselves. Albeit to say one should consider all the natural laws and find the underlining principles and apply those as best as possible. Some of which are as follows: Avoiding harmful things, drink lots of water, eat proper diet, get good rest, exercise, proper stress management, sunlight, fresh air, scheduled day, and so on. Each one is vital to good health.
So what about those circumstances that happen to most of use. Desiring not to offend a new neighbor or wishing a little treat for our children. Where do we draw the line?
Lets talk about the acceptable, avoid, and omit categories. A definition of acceptable would be: that which is satisfactory. I remember in grade school our marks were not A, B, C but I for incomplete, G for Good, F for fail, and S for satisfactory -- in other words you can do better. (Incidentally these words were often attached to my report card with the S.)
So what things would you include in this category? Again the circumstances may determine this. Example: You are visiting some relatives who offer you some cookies ‘they baked just for you’. You don’t see these relatives more than one or twice a year and they don’t know much about your new health principles. Well there are several choices - two of which are:
1. Say no, and explain you’ve learnt certain foods can lead to health problems . . . .
2. Say sure, just one because you made it simply for me.
Both of these choices can be right and wrong. Am I making it complicated? Not really. Perhaps it is in the attitude. It is not a sin to eat a little sugar or in between meals on occasion. (By the way it is a sin to overeat -- potluck anyone?) But what if you are fighting the flu? Now you may want to think twice about eating that cookie. The main point I want to make is we need to use prayer and reasoning when unsure. There are things you can be sure of, we’ll get to those. Another example: Your church is holding evangelistic meetings and you are up till 10 or 11 pm every night to help with cleanup. While not ideal, it is certainly not going to cause you major health problems. Perhaps you need to ‘take it easy’ the next day, though.
Now the avoid category. I am sure we would all like a list of the ‘acceptable’ things. But it is well known that one food can be hurtful to someone and helpful to another - such as whole wheat bread and celiac's. But as we get closer to the ‘omit’ category, the gray gets darker and we are able to see more clearly what health principles are ‘set in stone’. Avoid includes those foods which are not as beneficial as their possible risks. In this day and age that would be milk, eggs, and so on. If you have allergies it is important you avoid those things to prevent your body from damage. It would also mean avoiding smoke filled rooms, but does that mean you never visit the uncle Charlie because he smokes? NO, of course not. (Although you may politely request a window open very politely especially if you have children with you.) It is also important to realize some things are not as awful as they may seem. Who would thing holding a live scorpion would be safe? As you can see Donna and several others found out at the Victoria Bug Zoo, some things are over dramatized.
The last category is the easiest of all to describe -- those things which we should omit from our lifestyle completely. Smoking, drinking, breaking the commandments, and so on. These things are not acceptable at any time. I have heard it said “It’s ok to eat a little pork or drink a little coffee to not offend a poor suffering family whom you are doing Bible studies with. How then can you ask them to give it up when you come to those principles in the scripture? It quenches the witness. “It is as truly a sin to violate the laws of our being as it is to break the ten commandments. To do either is to break God’s laws. Those who transgress the law of God in their physical organism will be inclined to violate the law of God spoken from Sinai.” 2
Again I wish to reiterate that when it comes to the avoid and acceptable list we should error on the side of humanity. It is better to be a sweet and amiable person and treat others better than ourselves, than to live by ‘rules and regulations’ that are not in ‘stone’. Christ met humanity where they were at. So many people make issues out of mole hills that we are afraid of standing on the mountains. Let us not get off on either side but find the balance God requires of us.
AP
References:
1. 3 Selected Messages, pg. 287
2. Counsels on Diet and Foods, pg. 17
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