One of my good friends is reading a book right now on how we can allow food to be an ‘idol’ in our lives, and we’ve had conversations of late at Clearview amongst our staff about the verse in the Paul’s letter to the believers in Philippians 3:19 about how people’s god can be their belly. With all those thoughts swirling, I felt compelled just to write a bit about remembering that food is fuel.
Food can serve the wonderful purpose for connection and fellowship, but It can also quickly turn into a problem…especially in today’s world where marketing companies and big food companies pull every trick in the book to make food addictive. Here’s what I’m feeling compelled to say about guarding our hearts from obsessing over food and treating our bodies like a garbage disposal…we need to connect back to listening to our bodies.
Chew your food completely, enjoy the bites that you take, choose food that IS actual food, not a conglomeration of chemicals and additives, and stop eating when you BEGIN to feel full.
What if we just put those simple things into practice?
We’d stop shoving food into our mouths as if our bodies are garbage disposals. We’d stop stuffing ourselves so full and committing the sin of gluttony. And we’d begin to get free from being out of control with our eating and our relationship with food in general. Good quality, nourishing food is fuel for your body to move and function PROPERLY, yes we can & should connect with others over a beautiful meal…but we should not let the meal control us or drive us to overeating, because there are consequences that come with it every time.
🍽️ Chew your food well.
🥩 Choose food that is actually food.
👂 Listen to your body.
🛑 Stop eating when you begin to feel satisfied.
❤️ Enjoy fellowship around the table without allowing the meal to control you.
This is about good stewardship.
Our bodies belong to God, and caring for them can be an act of worship.
Food is fuel. Food is fellowship. Food is a gift.
But food was never meant to be our god.