By Olayinka Latona

THE General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye has urged Nigerians to eat healthily by adopting proper dietary and healthy lifestyle.

Making the appeal through the church’s daily devotional, Open Heaven’, with wake up topics: ‘Why Do You Eat & How Often Do you Eat’, Pastor Adeboye warned that overindulgence in food can cause physical and spiritual weakness.

 In his words: “The Bible says that the main purpose for eating should be to gain strength, not for indulging the flesh, as many people do. Food gives strength; however, it can also make a fellow weak spiritually and physically.

“When you see people who have become obese because they eat whatever they like whenever they like, you will notice that they are usually weak. For example, such people will begin to pant heavily after minimal physical exercise. That is a case of overindulgence in food, causing physical weakness. So, if you have noticed that getting up from your seat takes longer and more effort than it should, you need to check your diet.

The mathematician turned cleric said the main purpose for eating should be to gain strength and not for indulging the flesh noting that anyone who does not eat primarily for strength will also be weak spiritually.

Adeboye said God did not create humans to be sick but has given them every food they need to be healthy, strong and vibrant. Part of which include fruits and vegetables.

” Those who eat for strength don’t just eat anything; they eat what will make them strong. Fruits and vegetables will provide you with strength; eat a lot of them. Avoid eating foods with much sugar; they usually cause physical exhaustion.

“You should eat just enough to give you strength. When you are maybe 80% full, you should stop. When you load your body with too much food, you give it the task of digesting all that food at the same time and that will definitely cause some weakness

“How can you pray for long when your tummy is filled with pounded yam? How can you pray when you are always feeling lethargic due to the kind of food you consume?.

Using prophet Elijah and Apostle Paul in the Bible as example In his second message: ‘How Often How Often Do you Eat’ , Pastor Adeboye said God’s standard for eating, especially for adults, is twice a day.

He said those who are really serious about their destiny don’t eat every day revealing that despite being 80 years in age he still fast because he wants to finish his assignments on earth well.

In his words: “Paul the Apostle said in 2 Corinthians 11:27 that he fasted often. No wonder he fulfilled his destiny (2 Timothy 4:7-8). I am 80 years old now, and I don’t eat every day; I still fast often because I want to finish my course, I want to fulfil my destiny before I leave this world.

“In 1984, I was on a forty-day fast, lying weak on my prayer mat, when someone came in, saw me and asked, What else are you looking for in life that is making you fast this much? That was 38 years ago; what had I achieved then that someone would advise me to stop fasting? Look how far I have come since then.

I’m sure it is clear that I made a good choice by ignoring the fellow. What have you achieved so far? Are you satisfied with it? You should only eat every day when you are no longer striving for anything more than you have already.”