Problem No 4: Allergy or Food Intolerance

If This is the first time you have come to the website, you will find it easier to understand if you read the introduction on the left first, and then the previous blogs before reading this one.

Symptoms and cause

Allergy to food or food intolerances occur when the patient takes food but the body is unable to digest it proplerly and instead has a reaction of some sort.  In a food allergy the body rejects the food and will produce antibodies against it, so that if the problem is not treated, every time the food is eaten the body reacts even stronger than before, in some cases this will lead to such a violent rejection that anaphylaxis will result which can be life threatening.  With regard to a food intolerance the body doesn’t make antibodies against the food being eaten,  rather it rejects the food and different symptoms result – headaches, stomach aches, migraine, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea and the like.  When the church has an allergy to food, or a food intolerance it is seen in the response to the food of life, God’s word.  The word can be received in many different ways;  Christians can read it for themselves, they listen to preaching and teaching, sometimes Christians just don’t like what they read,  this is “food intolerance”.  They don’t digest it.  Worse still they WONT digest it or accept it.  They don’t like the guilt feelings that are caused as a result of receiving the word.  They don’t like the challenges, they don’t like the uncomfortable feeling they get.  They become really choosey about the “food” they will accept.  If it is encouraging, inspiring, or bringing down punishment and death upon their enemies it passes the test.  If they have a negative reaction of some sort they will avoid such teaching, or food.

As for an allergy, this presents itself with, at times, violent  symptoms of anger -  shouting abuse, rejection, mocking, accusing, slandering and often downright rudeness.  This reaction is seen usually with preaching and teaching, but can also present itself  in the context of a quiet time the words are ignored or avoided completely, but when the word of God is faithfully proclaimed from the pulpit, or public meeting the listeners have no way out, other than getting up and walking out, which is one of the ways that some Christians react to anything they don’t like.  Unfortunately when The Word of God is proclaimed faithfully, true to the context in which it was given, reactions will vary dramatically.  Some receive the word of God, as it is meant to be, manna to the soul, the food of life to the spirit, but for those who have a distinct allergy, they cannot stand to hear various subjects preached or taught.   This can range from – what the bible clearly says about homosexuality – people can react strongly not only to what is said but to the person who says it.  What does the bible say about death and eternal punishment?  What does the bible say about forgiveness, conflict resolution, corruption, enemies, use of time, evangelism, creation, salvation, marriage, immorality?  The list can go on and on, and you could pick almost any subject you like, everyone will have a reaction of some kind.  To those who know God, and desire to know him more, they know when the Holy Spirit is speaking, they hear, understand,  and will respond appropriately to the teaching they have heard. 

Unfortunately, there are many Christians who don’t want to hear what God is saying to the church today, the time has come that the apostle paul warned us about.  

^“.For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear”  2 Tim 4:2 – 3. 

If their itching ears are not satisfied they will experience some of the reactions mentioned above.  

Then there is the preacher who adapts bible verses or passages to make them more palatable to listeners who are sensitive about some “issues”.  Not wanting to upset people causes us to lose sight of what God is actually saying to his people.  We have lost connection with the head rather like the quote in Col 2:19, “(he) has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body is supported and held together by it ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.”

Sometimes the same sort of reactions will be seen in people that we see as “pillars of the church”, mature Christian leaders –they will have a reaction because they are probably reacting against the watering down of God’s word, to make it palatable to a generation who have been sensitized against the truth. 

Praise the Lord that there are still people and churches who preach the Truth exactly as God intended, but they are speaking out, as voices in the wilderness, and are becoming a rarity in the church of the 21^st century.

The test of whether the church is affected in this way is easily done – maybe you need to do the test yourself, as you will be one or the other – normal, or have allergies or intolerances to spiritual food.  When any of the subjects mentioned above, or any other subject which is known to be controversial in this day and age, how do you respond?  

 If you have a reaction that says something like:

·         Well, in this day and age, we understand the concepts or subjects much better. 

·         The bible doesn’t actually mean this…….

·         Today we need to be politically correct, or we may upset people and they will leave the church.

If you are starting your thought processes with these kind of sentences, the probability is that you have some allergy or intolerance of some kind – you probably need to visit the Great Physician, and have it checked out before you go much further.