Some Thoughts on Food
Since we began our twenty-one days of fasting as a church, I wanted to share some thoughts on food.
One of the toughest questions I am asked in my life comes when my family is all together in our big van and everyone is hungry. The question is, “Where do we want to eat?” This seems like a simple question. It seems like it could even be fun. But, oh! Foolish, naive child, it is not!
My beautiful, fun, creative wife has the only real opinion that matters to me; but she gave birth to three beautiful, fun, creative daughters. My firstborn always wants to go to the place with the best chicken strips and french fries. My second-born is the chef of the house and has the palate of a highfalutin French lord. My third-born just wants whatever is fastest because she only eats three bites of anything we put in front of her. And the biggest challenge/downer/complicator of them all is the guy driving the car. Yeah. That’s me.
My mind thinks through what we have at home, because we have already purchased that. My mind thinks how can I get them all to think Burger King, since I know the menu so well I can minimize the purchase price. My mind is so far away from their minds, I even consider a quick run to the grocery store where I can buy a few things we can all share. My brilliant, perceptive wife knows all my thoughts and tries to let me down easy most times. But if I mention any of my ideas out loud, my daughters give me their perfected eye-roll, and open mouthed “Ugh” with a pitch-perfect tone of disgust.
We Americans have an interesting relationship with food. Yesterday, I was fasting all day and was running low on energy. One of my American-middle-class daughters started talking about it, and she was surprised to learn that food gives us energy. She didn’t know this because she has never been without food. For her, and for most of us, food is more about an experience that brings joy to our tastebuds and a sense of fulfillment to our bellies. Outside of a few companies like Gatorade and Cliff Bar, the goal of food producers is not to produce the best fuel, but it’s about taste, experience and fulfillment. God was kind to give us taste buds and cells whose job is to give us a sense of fullness when we are overloading the system; but, ultimately, food is just about fuel. And if we are not careful, eating can be turned into a form of worship. The chef can become the priest, the restaurant can become the temple, and we can become worshippers who eat to feel better.
There are many created things which can become idols that we worship. The practice of fasting from food can help us get in touch with all of our appetites. Food might not be an issue for you. But through fasting and seeking Jesus, you can often learn what appetite is an issue for you. Maybe it’s finances and the false security they can bring. Maybe it’s position, power or popularity. Maybe it’s achievement, body image or man’s approval. Maybe it’s lust, or the covetousness that our American consumerist culture fosters so well.
We humans are so prone to idolatry. To combat this, the Bible, from beginning to end, is constantly calling people to stop worshipping created things and get back to worshipping the Creator of all things.
The hope of fasting is that we reorient our appetites to crave the joy and fulfillment found in what God has for us, instead of craving the counterfeit, fleeting joy and fulfillment found in earthly things. Like Jesus said after fasting for forty days, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Jesus also said, “My food is to do the will of the One who sent Me.” Fasting and other spiritual practices remind and reorient our souls to long for, rely on, and live out of our relationship with God above everything else.
Happy fasting,
David