Check out this amazing video. "Why did God allow man to eat meat?"
1) "Then the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, 'What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times'" (Numbers 22:28).
2) "A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel" (Proverbs 12:10).
3) Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care. (Matthew 10:29)
4) In Job 38:41, God says that He hears the cries of newborn ravens crying to Him for food.
5) According to the Bible, animals were initially created to address humanity's loneliness: "The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.' Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky" (Genesis 2:18-19).
6) The book of Genesis also tells us that animals, like humans, were created as nefesh chaya, which means "living souls" in Hebrew (Genesis 1:29,30; 2:7,19)
7) "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings." (Psalm 51:16).
8) "But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a person, and whoever offers a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck" (Isaiah 66:3).
9) "The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord (Isaiah 65:25).
10) Because of God's generosity, animals honor God: "The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for bestowing water in the desert and rivers on the wastelands for my people, my chosen one, to drink" (Isaiah 43:20).
"Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness" - Ecclesiastes 10:17
"They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth." Philippians 3:19
"Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe one with rags." - Proberbs 23:20-21 (NASB)
"And put a knife to your throat if you are a person of great appetite" (Proverbs 23:2).
"But this kind [of demon] does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Words of Jesus found in Matthew 17:21). According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, one definition of fasting is to "abstain from some foods".
"At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead" - Daniel 1:15-16
2) We should not test God with our health.
In Luke 4:12, Jesus says "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” This was a response to the devil tempting Jesus to jump off of a tall building, testing God and his angels to save Jesus from this unhealthy decision. Similarly, Christians are often tempted to destroy our bodies, not by jumping off a cliff, but by eating unhealthy and destructive "foods" and chemicals. Whether we test God by jumping off a cliff or by ingesting life-shortening foods and substances, it is still considered sin in the Bible.
3) Plant-based foods (fruits, vegetables and grains) were specifically designed for human consumption. Damaging drugs and dangerous chemicals are never labeled as food in the Bible.
"Then God said, 'Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.'" - Genesis 1:29 (New Living Translation)
"Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety." - Leviticus 25:19
"The fruit will be good food, and the leaves will be used for healing" - Ezekiel 47:12
"But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 26:4)
"On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations." - Revelation 22:2 (NLT)
Jesus almost certainly ate a kosher diet - rich in fresh fruits and vegetables - which is consistent with Jewish tradition (Matthew 5:18-19). Out of hunger, Jesus approached a fig tree for food (Matthew 21:18-22). Jesus often used fruits and vegetables as a positive metaphor (John 15:1-6, Luke 13:6-9, Luke 8:5-15).
"Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself." - Ezekiel 4:9
4)The Bible also declared certain meats OK to eat.
"Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant." - Genesis 9:3
"Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people." - Matthew 14:19
"And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you." (Leviticus 11:7). "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven." (Words of Christ) - Matthew 5:18-19
5) The Bible speaks against animal cruelty.
"Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel." - Proverbs 12:10.
"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God." - Luke 12:6
6) Vegetarianism is not prohibited. However, being judgmental is prohibited.
"One
person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer
with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. Those who feel
free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those
who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has
accepted them. Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? They are
responsible to the Lord, so let him judge whether they are right or
wrong." - Romans 14:2-4 (NLT)
"What
goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of
their mouth, that is what defiles them.” Matthew 15:11
"You may eat any meat
that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience.
For the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it." note: this was regarding meat (most likely kosher) that was offered to idols - 1 Corinthians
10:25-26
7)We should enjoy our food.
God "richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." - 1 Timothy 6:17
"There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God." - Ecclesiastes 2:24
"Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot." Ecclesiastes 5:18
"Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred". - Proverbs 15:17
"For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it?" - 1 Corinthians 10:29-30
8) Our health matters to God.
"Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit." - 3 John 1:2
"[My words] are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body." - Proverbs 4:22
9) While drunkenness and gluttony are sins, alcohol in moderation is not sinful.
"No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments." - 1 Timothy 5:23
Jesus turned water into wine. - John 2:1-12.
"It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble." - Romans 14:21
10) We should be thankful for our food.
"God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth." - 1 Timothy 4:3
