I have to admit that studying Ecclesiastes last year affected me in a number of ways. One of the lasting effects was a changed attitude toward food.
In the past, I looked at food as sort of a necessary evil, at least in terms of my Christianity. Eating was done for nourishment only, although fellowship as a “byproduct” was something I valued.
I’ve changed my mind. I think that food was meant to be enjoyed. Not abused. Enjoyed. Isn’t that why God filled our foods with such a wide variety of tastes and textures? Isn’t that one of the reasons why we find pleasure in certain foods?
Evolutionists would say that our bodies crave things like fat, calories, etc. out of a sense of survival. This sort of fits my old view of things, but it doesn’t go with what the Bible says. In the Old Testament there are many times when God’s people come together to eat “in the presence of the Lord,” drawing near to God by enjoying what he has given.
Ecclesiastes is full of verses that talk about enjoying our eating and drinking:
Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God.
Ecclesiastes 5:18 Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot.
Ecclesiastes 8:15 So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.
Ecclesiastes 11:9 Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
In Paul’s day there were some who taught that not only was food not to be enjoyed, but it was to be abstained from to try and please God:
“Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” (Colossians 2:20-23)
“They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:3-5)
So what do you think a Christian’s view toward food and eating should be? Are there “good foods” and “bad foods”? Are there proper ways of eating and improper ways of eating?
Help me work on a theology of food.
Tim, I taught Eccl for about 6 months at the end of last year and first of this one. I came to similar conclusions as you. Food is a blessing to enjoy. If you doubt that, skip lunch! It can also be a means of spiritual growth, as with sharing our food with others and fasting (and even this spiritual discipline can produce the awareness of food as a blessing).
We had a member that received a good health report a few years ago. He celebrated by providing all the food for a church meal one Sunday so we could celebrate with him. That was neat.
I love that story. I’m doing Leviticus right now on my Spanish radio program, and that sounds so much like the offerings of gratitude God commanded in Leviticus.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
I believe that Colossians 2:20-23 describes our world today very graphically, sadly enough. There’s so much around us that has to do with human regulations on eating, dieting, harsh treatment of the body (mind, spirit, and soul I might add) , seeing some foods as evil when in reality what is evil is the fact that we eat more of them than our bodies actually need to function in a healthy manner.
The two words that I think hold the key in this passage in Colossians are at the end of verse 23: restraining and indulgence. That’s where the problem is, at least for me, learning how to restrain my desire to indulge in unhealthy *amounts* of food, any food. Eating 6 plates of salad, righteous as it might sound, is the same problem of lack of restraint and overindulgence as eating half a pan of chocolate cake. It’s covetousness, wanting more than your body actually needs.
Paul says that human commands, teachings, and regulations lack any value in being capable of helping us in that area, they are destined to perish with use. Want proof? Just walk into a bookstore or library and look at the huge “Dieting” section (no pun intended) they have. You would think all these books, videos, DVDs, etc. would have done something to solve the problem by now. But it’s only getting worse.
Only the power of God through the Holy Spirit that lives in us can help us see food the way that it was meant to be seen and enjoyed.
Sensitive topic for a lot of us who struggle with this. My prayer is that we will learn to let the Holy Spirit really work in that area of our lives so that the bodies that He has given us to fulfill His purposes in this life will be healthy and strong enough to do so until He calls us home.
Well said, Carolina. And I like your post, Tim. Food is awesome and a blessing; and it can be abused. Just like anything else, really. Sex is awesome and a blessing and very (very) pleasing; yet it can be abused and conducted against God’s ways. Alcohol (I believe) is a blessing in many ways; yet it can be abused and used against God’s ways. This could go on and on but you get the point; and could also be said for the neglect of each of these things.
The thing is, how do we treat these things; is it in faith and for the glory of God? When the Jews were instructed to bring offerings; those from a distance were allowed to purchase what they needed in Jerusalem. “Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice” (Deut 14:26). The point was, it was for enjoying in the presence of YHWH with family.
Our lives are so crazy. I know I give little thought to food at times. I’ll run home and eat some cheese and crackers, pound an energy drink, and return to my studies; all in 10-minutes. It’s crazy. It’s stupid, really.
But it is a product of our society, I believe. In other countries their days are planned around their meals and the time and care it takes to produce these meals are things of beauty and people are devoted to them. I know we have that in this land, but it is not a cultural thing here. In fact, even some of the shows dedicated to food have titles like “5-Minute Meals”!
Anyway, I think enjoying food means we must slow down. Slow down, enjoy God, and enjoy the food He has given us. As Ecc 2:24 above says well, it “is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?”
Good post.
Grace to you –
Jr
By looking at Carolina’s comment, you can see who is the insightful one in this family! All I can say is: amen, honey!
Jr, that passage from Deuteronomy is a good one. Jay Abels commented a while back on this blog that people in the Old Testament didn’t draw near to God through fasting, but through eating! And I want to explore in another post that idea of slowing down when we eat. (I am very guilty of eating too fast)
awaiting carolina’s blog to start up so I can drop this one
;)
Why am I hungry all of a sudden? Good thoughts by everyone here.
The Preacher helps us to avoid the Greco-Roman heresy of asceticism. The created order of things are gifts of grace “from the hand of God” (2.24-26; 3.12-13; 5.18-20; 8.15; and 9.7-10). This life has meaning precisely because God has embedded within the cadence of the ordinary the gifts of grace. I love the book … plenty of irony, sarcasm and the like but living in the MOMENT is something one with wisdom has learned to do. And besides can you imagine a world with no coffee!!!!
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