One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet. Proverbs 27:7

In this last installment for the week, we’re going to take a quick look at a topic which is at once utterly basic to the physical survival of all of mankind, constantly at the forefront of literally everyone’s attention, but is almost never given any real theological or ethical thought by true worshipers of Jesus Christ in today’s America.

Regrettably, the liberal apostates have actually spent more time and effort on this important life issue than we have.

One could guess by my subtitle that this is the topic of food.

Immediately, some may be staring at their screen wondering what exactly there is to talk about. This is both the point and the problem. Hear me out please.

God has created our bodies from the dust of the Earth and He has created them to require sustenance from sources external to themselves.

Once rightly considered from the Word of God, the subject of food proves to be a much deeper and farther reaching consideration than is almost ever realized.

On the rare occasion when the topic of food actually is found in today’s American pulpits, it’s usually related to the topic of gluttony. Which is indeed a real sin and widely pervasive in our culture, including the church.

However, gluttony, and its related sins are not the focus of this short piece. Not directly anyway. We also are not going to deal with the idiotic topic of vegetarianism, except to say that there is no biblically superior position to be had by being a vegetarian and we’ll leave it at that.

I would like us, in Jesus name, to consider our relationship with food from the standpoint of gratitude. Or actually the lack thereof and the flagrant wastefulness with which we treat this precious God given resource.

Yes, I am well aware that it’s usually the weepy eyed liberals who talk this way, and that, usually in their hypocritical fake concern for the world’s poor. However, unless we are going to engage in blatant ad-hominemism, what is true is true, regardless of who says it or why. I contend that in this case they actually have a point.

Again, let’s start with a few preliminary considerations.

In the interest of brevity, we’ll leave the question of why and whether Adam and Eve needed to eat before their fall into sin, and concentrate on the reality of the situation we now live in since Genesis chapter 3. We also know that all safe food sources have been made clean in the new covenant. (Mark 7:18-19, Acts 10:9-16)

Nowhere in scripture that I can think of do we find God saying something like “Thus says the Lord God, without food you will die.” We also don’t find such passages regarding water or air. These are the inescapable, self evident realities that all sane people concede that they find themselves in.

In this post fall world, without food, we will die of starvation. Famine is always bad and is in fact sometimes God’s judgment.

Seeing that God owes no one anything except His eternal wrath, where there is food, there is His grace. Where there is food, of sufficient quality and quantity, there is life. Where there is not, there is death.

Of course everybody knows that without food of sufficient quality and quantity, humans cannot survive, but for Americans, including Christian Americans, this is rarely given so much as a second thought. The reason is because we have lived in an overabundance, and I do mean OVERabundance of food in this country, pretty much everywhere, especially since the dawn of the industrial revolution.

We have a large percentage of homeless people in this nation who are overweight. We have more food in our garbage than much of the world has in their stomachs. If we think this escapes the notice of the Lord our God, we are sorely deluding ourselves.

After feeding the five thousand in John chapter 6, Jesus said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments that nothing may be lost.” (John 6:12) Whatever the particulars are here, our Lord does seem to be concerned that His people not carelessly waste food.

As of December of last year, the best data reveals that Americans waste 16 billion pounds, or about one third of purchased food annually (look it up). This demonstrates both that God has enormously blessed us with the aforementioned showering overabundance of food, AND, that we apparently have no problem squandering that blessing right in His face. Does anybody believe that Christians are very much different than sinners in this regard in most cases?

We expect this from unbelievers, but what has happened to Christians when they have no more gratitude for their Father’s gracious provision than His enemies do?

Think with me here for a moment please. The testimony of scripture is that God created woman for man, in large part because there was not a helper found suitable for him with which he could reproduce. God could have devised any way He saw fit by which the propagation of His crowning creative achievement would be ensured.

Because of His goodness and love for man, He gave us marriage and the sexual union. Among the most joyous and intensely pleasurable of all human experiences. According to the design of God, marriage, the sexual union and procreation are a package. Barring His own extraordinary providential exceptions, we are not supposed to have one without the other two.

One of Satan’s primary and most successful strategies has been to tempt man into isolating and elevating the physical pleasure of sex to the denigration or even exclusion of faithful marriage and children. Sex for the sake of it, and marriage and children only get in the way.

How is this any different than what we often do with food?

God gives us food to sustain our lives and make us strong in His service. In His goodness and love He makes it pleasing for us to eat. He didn’t have to do that ya know. Yet, in our oblivious participation in American ease and comfort and plenty, how many of us have made how foods taste THE driving standard and motivation for what and how much we eat? Yes, many times even at the expense of our physical health, which is its divinely ordained primary purpose.

Most of the world throughout most of history, including church history, has not had to even think about this because they ate what was available, which was usually quite limited. They didn’t have acres of food sitting on shelves every mile like we do. Most of it unhealthy anyway, but that’s yet another different discussion. They most definitely didn’t have restaurants and fast food joints on every corner.

The problem is not the overabundant availability of food. The problem is our entitled, presumptuous, ungrateful response to it. I don’t know who’s reading this and I’m not pointing a self righteous finger of accusation at anybody, but I know you’re out there and in fairly large numbers.

As I said at the beginning of this piece, food is necessary for life and yet we give God’s bountiful provision nary a moments conscious thought. Saying a quick ritualistic word of grace before eating is not a substitute for an abiding heart of actual gratitude.

We haven’t even touched on the luxury of hot and cold running water. The average person can live 30-40 days without food, but only 10-14 without water. Much of the world has no potable water at all, or very little or what they do have is practically a full time job to retrieve. We walk across the room and touch a little device and it comes pouring out. Again, without giving God’s bountiful provision a moments conscious thought.

It ought not be so among the people of God.

I hasten to clarify that what I’m calling for is not some legalistic, formulaic, monastic, hyper-burdensome view and use of food. There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying food and having enough of it. What I am calling for is that we reconsider our view and use of food in light of God’s purpose for it. Its purpose is to nourish our bodies. The fact that it tastes good is God’s gracious bonus and not the other way around.

I’m not trying to make anybody feel guilty for being an American and living in her modern conveniences. What I’m hoping for, where it’s needed, is a bit of conviction for not being properly grateful to the Lord for them. Submitted, righteous stewardship is yet another issue here, and still yet another different discussion.

Ultimately, we waste so much food because we can. What if God puts us in a position where we can’t?