Three Little Words That Christians Can't Bring Themselves to Say

If there's one thing kids love to do, it's ask questions. Kids want to know how things work, and why they work the way they do. If I can answer questions honestly, I don't hesitate to do so. But sometimes kids ask more complicated questions, and the honest answer is “I don't know.”

Why are those three little words taboo amongst adults? Why do we insist on fabricating explanations for things when we haven't the faintest idea why people are injured or killed in car accidents, or why women miscarry, or why people get cancer when they have healthy lifestyles?

Recently I had a conversation with a twelve-year-old girl who wanted to know why people are always shooting each other and why isn't anyone doing anything to stop this? I sighed from the depths of my being, looked her in the eye, and said, “I don't know, kiddo. I don't have an answer that will satisfy either one of us.”

As someone who didn't grow up going to church, and as someone who is getting more and more disillusioned with westernized Christianity, I can tell you why more and more people are leaving churches. Church is no longer a safe place to ask honest questions or say “I don't know.”

There Are NO "Bad" Foods!

I've had a rough weekend, so I was not happy when I saw that someone on Facebook labeled sweets as “bad.”

I'm going to be brutally honest here: Labeling ANY food as “bad” is not going to lead anywhere good. Food is neutral in itself. It's not good or bad. Our food CHOICES can be good or bad when we eat too much or too little of different things. I'm not against trying to make healthy food choices. But food choices are a separate issue from food itself.

As someone who's struggled with an eating disorder and nearly lost the battle, I take this issue of labeling “bad” foods very seriously. I'm not saying everyone who labels foods is destined to develop anorexia or bulimia, but you have to understand, it's a slippery slope. Once you start thinking in black and white like that, it's very hard to quit. I would know. I'm still working on it.

People who knew me back when I was at my sickest have told me how much healthier I look now. The kicker is, I got that way from eating lots of “bad” foods. When I was in treatment, I had a licensed dietician tell me to eat dessert every day. She also had me working on getting a decent level of fat intake from a variety of foods. (Did you know that all of our vital organs are made up mostly of fat tissue??)

So yeah, all that to say, I don't want to hear any more of this “bad” food business. Making the occasional batch of brownies is not bad. Being in danger of heart failure at age 21 because you're not eating? Now that's bad.