Thought for Today

Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."

Genesis 25:29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished.  30 Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!" (Therefore he was called Edom.)  31 Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright."

Mark 6:41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all.  

John 21:12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord.

I got up early this morning to put one of our favorite recipes in our slow cooker. It is our version of what is known as a guisada, a stew with meat, tomato, cumin and flour. Our original recipe was for beef, but now we also sometimes use chicken or pork and we have added more vegetables to the recipe. It is truly delicious. It does, however, require a certain amount of chopping and dicing.

As I wielded my knife against the cutting board this morning, I began to think about food and the important role it plays in our lives and in our faith. Most of us who are ‘of an age’ have received voluminous amounts of information from our primary care doctors about our diets and proper nutrition. Many in our age group are on medications to also ensure we maintain the proper blood pressure, cholesterol levels, etc.

If you read newspapers, magazines, watch television or access social media platforms, you are surely aware of the plethora of different ‘miracle’ diets. Over the decades, we have been assured that the grapefruit diet, the no-fat diet, the Adkins diet, the paleo diet, the Mediterranean diet or some other diet will prevent all disease, will provide weight loss without exercise and will ensure our total and complete health. Almost every time I open my web browser, I am confronted with  a suggestion that I click on a  link about what will happen if I just “eat this one thing.” Ironically, however, every time I ask any doctor about weight loss, blood pressure or cholesterol I receive the same answer: Exercise more, eat a balanced diet based on small portions of lean meat, vegetables, fruits and nuts.

 I have encountered advertisements for diet and nutrition books allegedly  based on the Bible. My Bible software cannot find the words ‘diet’ or ‘recipe’ anywhere in scripture. I have heard the book of Psalms described as the Bible’s hymnal. I have never seen any suggestion that any book is the Bible’s cookbook.

Food does, however, play a significant role in many Bible stories, from Genesis to the conflict between Jacob and Esau. Food in the form of manna  and quail was provided to the wandering Israelites in the Negev following the Exodus. Most Christians are aware that the Last Supper was almost assuredly a Passover Seder. When we read about the feeding of the 5.000 with 5 dinner rolls and 2 sardines, food is central to the miracle itself.

We know that God  provided the bounty of Creation to sustain our God-given life. We know that Adam was told by God, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." Sadly, we know how that turned out. We know that neither Jacob nor Esau came out of their food encounter looking too good.

We also know, however, those words of Micah, “6:8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah did not suggest that God requires us to have a BMI “between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m2” (Copilot Search) Neither did Jesus suggest, when asked about the most important commandments suggest that diet was preeminent.

Proper diet and nutrition are important for our physical health. Our mental and spiritual health are equally important. They both require a diet of love, of prayer, and of being in relationship with our Creator God, the one who also provided those trees of the garden. All of God’s children need to be careful and prudent in monitoring and maintaining their physical, mental and spiritual health.

Eat well, pray often, love extravagantly, trust God,

Pastor Ray