I want to begin with a story.
Years ago, when my kids were young, I took them cross-country skiing in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Tahoe, California. Cross-country skiing is really just hiking in the snow—but that day, it turned into something more serious.
We were heading toward a small cabin used as a shelter for hikers. Along the way, my kids were dragging behind, complaining, and not paying much attention to where we were going. Then the weather began to change. Snow started falling harder and visibility dropped. The trail became harder to see.
I realized we could have a real problem if we didn’t pick up the pace.
So, I stopped, gathered them close, and spoke plainly: this was serious. If we lost the trail or the storm worsened, we could be in danger. That moment changed everything. Their attitude shifted instantly. Complaints stopped. Focus sharpened. Our pace more than doubled, and we reached the cabin safely.
The difference wasn’t my instructions—they had heard those all along.
The difference was understanding what was at stake.
Why Understanding Comes First
In many ways, this is how we respond to information about health and diet. Until we truly understand why something matters, we don’t act on it.
It does little good to talk about principles of healthy eating if we don’t first grasp their importance. Many people have heard the idea that “what you eat isn’t a salvation issue,” and conclude that food simply doesn’t matter very much.
But that conclusion misses something important.
Food Isn’t the Issue—But the Mind Is
It’s true, God does not reject a person based on what they eat.
But what we eat affects something incredibly important: our minds. And our minds are where every choice is made.
If our thinking is clear, balanced, and disciplined, we are better equipped to make wise decisions. If our thinking is clouded, impulsive, or easily influenced, we become more vulnerable to poor choices, unhealthy habits, and even deception.
So, while food itself is not a salvation issue, the effect it has on our thinking—and therefore our choices—matters more than we often realize.
A Battle of Influence
The Bible reminds us:
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)
We live in a world full of competing influences. Some lead toward clarity, self-control, and life. Others lead toward confusion, excess, and harm.
When it comes to food, this contrast has become especially clear in the modern world
How Food Has Changed
Over the past century, our diet has shifted dramatically. Whole, natural foods have increasingly been replaced by products that are refined, engineered, and designed for maximum taste and convenience.
Many of these foods are created to be highly stimulating, encouraging us to eat more than we need and crave more than is good for us.
This constant overstimulation can affect the brain’s reward system, making it harder to experience satisfaction, maintain self-control, and think clearly. Instead of supporting our well-being, food can begin to work against it.
God’s Design vs. Man’s Design
From the very beginning, God provided a simple, natural pattern for food—one designed not only for nourishment, but for balance and well-being.
There is wisdom in this idea … God is trying to lead us back, step by step, to His original design, that man should subsist upon the natural products of the earth.
Natural, whole foods tend to bring steady energy, clearer thinking, and a more balanced sense of satisfaction. In contrast, heavily processed foods often promise greater pleasure—but leave us wanting more, not less.
It’s a pattern many of us have experienced.
A Question Worth Asking
Jesus once taught that those who drink from the world’s water will thirst again. The same principle can apply to what we eat.
When we rely on foods designed to overstimulate appetite, we often find ourselves less satisfied, not more.
So, it’s worth asking a simple question:
Where does my food come from—and what is it doing to me?
Is it supporting clarity, balance, and health?
Or is it feeding cycles of craving, fatigue, and foggy thinking?
What’s at Stake
Here is the question I want to leave with you:
What if the very time we need clear thinking the most is the time we have most drifted away from the habits that support it?
God’s desire is not to restrict us, but to guide us toward a better way of living—one that brings both present well-being and lasting good.
The choice, as always, is ours.
And it may begin more simply than we think—with what’s on our plate.
If you are struggling with how to fix food that strengthens your mind, you may want to attend one of our hands-on cooking classes at the Wellness Support Center. See more details below.
If you are unable to attend but would like the recipes, use the QR code and choose “unable to attend but would like recipes.”
—Rick Mautz is the Rocky Mountain Conference Wellness Support director. Photo by S. Laiba Ali of Unsplash.
