Rick says, "physical fitness is a stewardship issue."
Is it? Is your body simply on loan to you?
Will you need the body you now have when you are in heaven?
Not, if you are listening to Rick and are out of shape, then after hearing his words
you are probably feeling like you have failed God. after
all you want to be a good steward.... right?
If you are a Christian, you probably would want to be in the best shape possible to serve God. Not only that, but Rick seems to know what he is talking about, and he is the "pastor"
he knows what the Bible says.... so if you then decide to listen to him,
the next thing you will want to do is what?
Buy his book?
Take good care of your body just like he says?
Get a group of your friends to do his Daniel Plan?
After all, Rick says his program is "God's Prescription for your health."
The desire to exercise more, make smart food choices while shopping or follow a daily diet plan to help you loose pounds if you are overweight is great. It is even great to do an exercise program with friends who keep you on-track and encouraged along the way. It is wonderful to read the bible an see what it says too. None of these things are what is wrong with the Daniel Plan concocted by Rick Warren and his publishing partners. Their book probably has a lot of helpful advice. But if you think a person can draw closer to God or please him more by meditation techniques or by abstaining from certain foods or drinks, if you somehow think that a person who is overweight is obviously not pleasing to the Lord God or not in God's perfect will, (especially if THAT person is you,) then you just might be being deceived.
Highly marketed inside Christian circles and to the general public as well via a full blown media blitz, the Daniel Plan advertising gives one the distinct impression that the idea behind it comes direct to you from God and straight from the pages of scripture. It is as if Rick Warren, ever-concerned with health issues of all kinds, has a message about what God has to say about your health. It's the new theology of health, as he calls it; something that, he says, no one has ever discovered before.
Strangely,
Rick's theology of health includes taking the advice and health recommendations of his partners in health, Dr. Amen, Dr. Hyman, and Dr. Oz. Dr. Hyman, offers patients his many helpful nutrition
supplements, for a fee of course. Dr. Oz, the heart surgeon-gone-talk-show-host, introduces is audiences to
spiritualists and
mediums who talk to the dead and encourages them to learn to talk to their deceased loved ones too. Dr. Oz.even recommends
Paul McKenna to his patients (or rather, television audiences) and encourages them to be
hypnotized for weight loss. Then there is Dr. Amen, partner of Rick, who teaches about the health of the human brain.. He gives instruction for his patients to practice Kirtan Kriya a meditative practice with repetitive syllabic pronunciations of
Sa Ta Na Ma, (making one sounds as if they are calling on Satan in meditation.) So now, many people who listen to "Pastor Rick," also listen to the advice of these partnered "health" experts too.
Make no mistake, Rick, in full book promoting partnership with these men and is vicariously recommending their wisdom and practices, to the church, along with his own recommendations for you. It's a
new way of life he says that he is offering those unhealthy Christians who he says,(
click here and look inside this book) never had a theology of health. (That is, until now... because now Rick and doctor friends have come along and devised the Daniel Plan to help them out.)
Rick's Daniel Plan, not only embraces and promoted the "wisdom" of these men listed above, but is chock full of things that you need to do,
"habits" you must form, and rules you need to remember about eating. it is brimming with
commitments you must keep... commitments of quiet times every day with God, commitments to the people in your weekly-meeting small group, to the Daniel Plan program and this is on top of those membership covenants you already have made and signed if you are in a purpose driven church. You will be abstaining from meat, (just like Daniel) eating this but not that and trying your hardest to rest in God's grace while you practice prayerful movements and breathing techniques all day long in order to obtain that closer walk with God and be able to serve Him better. The slick marketing behind the Daniel Plan, with it's biblical sounding presentation is pure humanly-manufactured mind manipulation that reeks of legalism.
Daniel was not trying to get healthier in his abstinence from the kings meat. he just knew for certain of what kingdom he was. He has made God the king of his life and was not about about bow down to the demons that the kind of Babylon had sacrifices his food to. Neither should we.
The kingdom of God is not about food and drink. The kingdom of God is about the righteousness of Jesus Christ and what we who believe in Him have inside of us thanks to His death and resurrection. (Read Romans 14... particularly verse 17) There is no act of physical detoxification nor is there any work of righteousness that you can do in order to be closer to God. A simple confession of faith in the one God sent to save you from your sin will do, and with that comes new life, today, and for forever after, even after that day that your body dies.. Jesus is God's prescription for everything that ails you, even death. He is God's
free gift; but Rick doesn't offer his audiences Jesus in order to have eternal life. Instead he teaches what to eat and drink in order to add a few years to their life and he sells his product, conveniently labeled, "God's Prescription,"... the Daniel Plan..
Yes, the Daniel Plan may teach you helpful information about diet and exercise, and it may give you generic information about Jesus and you might even find yourself reading words on a page that sound like they came right out of the pen of scribes, but beware. The Daniel Plan is full of legalism.
It is true, the Daniel Plan will encourage you
to trust Christ to help you succeed with your diet. It will tell you that you have the grace of God and are free in Christ and even talk about a relationship with God, but the act of actually trusting Jesus with your eternity by you putting your faith in Him for your eternal salvation is glaringly missing.
1 Corinthians 15:19 tells us, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable," because the Christian hope is much more than this life only. You see, the scriptures teach Christians that in Adam, all die, but in Christ shall all be made alive. Thanks be to God he has given us everything we need, even victory over death.
Jesus Christ is much more than a great teacher. He is more than a "life coach" who will give his advice and counsel and take you on that long, slow journey of learning how to be
just like God. Jesus also did not die on a cross in order to give you the gift of
health, or to simply
help you "recover" from feeling burned out or lost in your life. Jesus didn't die to make you a
leader, or admired by the world. He also didn't die for you so that you could
celebrate his love for you and then continue worshiping any false God of your choice or making. No. Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. God, who came in the flesh to reveal God and his love to you. Coming to humanity as a baby, Jesus Christ was born. He grew up and died in the hands of sinful men, and gave himself as the Lamb of God. Jesus also rose again from death to life in order to make himself known and to give those who believe on Him, His gift of forgiveness for our sin, despite what legalistic Rick Warren teaches,
here,) and eternal life.
Jesus Christ is the gift, free, unearned, and amazing gift of God, his righteousness is yours if you simply receive it. Rick doesn't offer you that gift.... just everything and anything but that.
God's gift to you, (according to Rick Warren) is not about you.... it is you. It you and your purpose, you and your ministry and leadership skill, you and your SHAPE, your sdkills, your dreams..... and yeven your body. And, you, Christian and Christian pastor, on judgement day, are going to be accountable to God for how well you have taken care of your body.
"Your body is a gift from God.
