My husband loves doughnuts. A good breakfast for him is comprised of doughnuts and orange juice. He even loves to give boxes of doughnuts to people he loves. I made the decision to purchase him a box on my way out of the grocery store the other day. Why would I buy something full of calories and low nutrition to my beloved one? He doesn't have the same convictions as I do. It's okay to let him live his life as a free man who can freely eat what he likes and exercise as much or as little as he'd like.This is what Joyce Meyer says on her book "In Pursuit of Peace":
"It is arrogant of us to try to make other people agree with our convictions. For example, I try to eat reasonably healthy meals, and I have studied nutrition and its effects on the body. Consequently, I have strong opinions about how we should take care of ourselves. I do eat sweets, but only in small amounts, and I am usually concerned when I see anyone regularly consuming large amounts of sweets and other foods that I know to be unhealthy.
I have tried to tell people that they are eating poorly, and they have not received my advice well, to say the least. I even had one person say, 'If we are going to spend time together, I don't want you telling me what to eat all the time and making me feel guilty when I eat something you don't approve of. I know I don't eat right, but I am just not at the place in my life where I am ready to do anything about it. I have lots of things wrong with me that I feel are more urgent than my appetite. So I am concentrating on what I feel God is dealing with me about, and I have no time to pay attention also to what you are dealing with me about."The person sounded pretty harsh and actually did not display a good attitude toward me, but I got the point, and I have been less likely ever since to tell anyone how he or she should eat. We all tend to put our convictions on others; we think if they are priorities for us, they must be priorities for everyone.
The fact is that people have the right to make their own choices, even wrong ones."
I have tried to push my convictions on my husband before as well as other people. I try my best to respect where people are. If people want to eat a big mac, I say more power to them. I have been there before. I was told by a friend 'Cintia, you are not hungry, why are you still eating?' Back then I wasn't ready to walk on the path God has led me to walk today. I appreciate close friends and family who respected my choices then and now.