From the Desk of Paul Chapman

"McDonald’s Made Me Eat It"
By PJ Chapman

I am just old enough to remember the Flip Wilson television show, and how one of his characters would say, “The Devil made me do it.” The phrase caught on and is now a part of “Americana.” Actually, it is probably more representative of our country’s attitude than we would care to admit.

No longer is anything the fault of the individual. We lie, cheat, steal, maim and murder, but must not be blamed. Someone or something made us do it. Seeking someone to blame for our own sins is becoming a national pastime that is beginning to pay off big. Millions of dollars may be won if you can convince a jury that your irresponsible behavior is due to the irresponsibility of someone who actually has no responsibility for you at all. Did that make sense?

Anyway, the latest ones to hop on the “victim” gravy train are obese people. Parents of some overweight teenagers are suing McDonald’s saying it is responsible for their obesity. The parents claim they didn’t know the greasy fried food from McDonald’s was unhealthy. They say if McDonald’s had just advertised warnings about the danger of eating their food, then their kids would be fat free.

I have great empathy for fat people because I am one. Blaming someone else for my bloated physique would be nice, but it would be a lie. I knew I was getting fat and why; too much food and not enough activity. Instead of teaching their kids to pass the buck of blame, they should be teaching them to take responsibility for their actions. They need to search the Scriptures.

First, God tells us we are going to be judged according to our own deeds (Romans 2:6; Psalms 62:12). The apostle Paul wrote, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad”(2 Corinthians 5:10). We might be able to shift the blame in our earthly courts, but that won’t happen in the court of our Lord.

Second, the Scriptures teach that the individual, in order to be pleasing to God, must display the qualities of sacrifice and self-control. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it”(Matthew 16:24-25). And the apostle Paul wrote, “Everyone who competes exercises self-control in all things…”(1 Corinthians 9:25).

The principles of sacrifice and self-control must be applied to how we treat our bodies. Speaking to Christians of the earthly body, Paul wrote, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s”(1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We are temporary caretakers of our body, and God will hold us accountable for how we treat it, and what we do with it. Our responsibility is to always use our body in a way that will glorify God. When we don’t apply sacrifice and self-control, allowing our body to become obese to the point of risking our physical health, we are not glorifying God.

The sad thing is that this whole lawsuit has little to do with obesity and unhealthy food. Instead, it is about the love of money. The Devil sure is busy.

~ PJ Chapman