With all the attention millions of people give to weight, food, diet and fitness, it is well to ask before sitting down to a meal, “Am I filling up on food or inspiration?”
Masses of people feel helpless in the face of food, believing it controls them, determines their weight, affects their decisions and controls their appetite. But this is backward reasoning. Mind governs thought and action, not food!
Food is quite harmless by itself. It has no power to put itself into your mouth, tell you what to do or to manipulate your emotions and desires. Food is mindless matter. There is no intelligence in it. You have control over food through understanding Mind reigns and rules over thought and action, not edibles.
It is well, when sitting down for a meal, to first honor the one Mind’s government over thought and action, to stay metaphysically clear that food does not control or govern your habits. As a child of God, you act on the impulse of Truth and Love which lead to intelligent decision-making that produces a good effect.
Eat up the truth at mealtime, and during snack time too. It’s a choice you can make and feel good about.
“Whatever inspires with wisdom, Truth, or Love — be it song, sermon, or Science — blesses the human family with crumbs of comfort from Christ’s table, feeding the hungry and giving living waters to the thirsty”
Science and Health, p. 234.
Thank you Evan,
This is wonderful food for thought to take with me to work today.
Thanks! So true and so needed. It seems that many people proudly proclaim they don’t smoke or drink alcohol, but then you see that they are quite heavy and obviously are “tempted” with food!!! Love can help us overcome all of the temptations. It does take work and I am a food lover!!!!
Thank you! I think my grace before meals is About to change 🙂
Interesting blog today. I felt a little push back on your comment about food being “mindless matter.” Food in my home is more than that, have to say. I love to prepare beautiful fresh colorful food for my family/friends. As long as I am needing to eat (still am) I will eat/prepare food with care, love, and attention and thank God for His abundant “grocery store”! I love to think of Jesus lovingly preparing that meal for the disciples on the shores of Galilee. How wonderful that must have been after a night of fruitless fishing. What a joy to partake of that meal with the Master! That’s what I like to think about when I am preparing beautiful meals for my family/friends.The pure love of that meal! It was on the coals, hot and tasty! I am not ready to pop a food tablet into my mouth and call it a meal! 🙂 I guess I need to think this one through some more. Disclaimer:come from a family of chefs and am an accomplished cook. It’s an art form to me! (to be partaken of with moderation and mindfulness of course!). Am I completely off target?
Hi Grace,
You are right on the money, from my understanding point of view, just what Evan is talking about. Food being “mindless matter” is also correct, since it can’t talk to you, it suggesting that you have no control over it, and then making you eat too much or too little. Food is an expression of God’s care and supply for us, and first acknowledging that all supply is from God puts our thoughts into the right channel, listening to His inspirations, will put our thoughts into His control over eating, rather than giving food control in our thinking and emotions. So, when you give God his due as you are preparing the meals, that is exactly what Evan is saying.
I give thanks daily to Evan and his team, for the daily inspirations, and I love to read all the comments from people all over the world as they add more to the conversation.
i don’t think so. thanks for such a funny comment!
Hi Grace,
Material food is mindless matter. It’s like the body. The body, as matter, is mindless matter. However a person, with a body, may express abundant love, intelligence and wisdom. But the love, intelligence and wisdom they express is coming from God, not from mindless matter.
So, if you serve a meal genuinely prepared in love, the benefit you give to those you serve comes from that love, not from the atomic elements of that food. When someone looks at a creative dish you serve and sees beauty, order and grace, what they see is coming from divine Love, not from matter. Another cook, who has no inspiration whatsoever, but just slaps the same food onto a dish and serves it without care, is not going to have the same effect that you do when you serve your patrons with love and care. Same food, totally different effect.
I like to think the same is true of many vineyards and family-held traditions of loving care and quality that goes into the infinite varieties of food and drink. Jesus explained that it is not what goes in to the mouth but what comes out from within that “defiles”. His first miracle was the changing of water in to wine that amazed the lord of the feast for it’s great quality. “Judge not” he taught, nor try to please men. His last supper included wine as a natural part of the meal. It plays an important role in many religious traditions. No need to be afraid of food or drink. It all has metaphysical meaning. Thus if Good is omnipresent and omnipotent we can appreciate from our true being: the only “malicious power” is in the fear we hold inside.
Thank you Evan for your reply to Grace and thank you for the today`s timely topic, as I am grateful everyday for your loving spiritual food!
Oh, how good it would be if all those, fighting with their assumption of having too much weight or being afraid of eating too much and not healthy enough etc. would know and understand the teachings of Christian Science, what a blessing it would be to them.
I love that passage from Science and Health p. 234, so true and beneficial.
But I also love what Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1. Cor. 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
Jesus said “Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, as your Father in heaven knowes what you have need of before you ask and will give it to you.”
My first meal in the morning is the weekly lesson sermon. Filled with that spiritual Truth and Love and spiritual strength I can go on doing my days works with more inspirational thoughts.
And when I feel I should eat something, I prepare what I like and while eating it I thank God for what excellent good he has given me today.
It is so nice to read all your comments SpiritView friends, so enriching, thank you a l l! 😉
Thanks so much, Evan, for a very helpful message and to all who have commented. I might add that in addition to the quantity of food we eat we should also not give it any power. Food does not block normal functions, cause contamination or have any detrimental effects on our well being. God is the true, and only, source of our well being.
Thank you Lori – that’s a very helpful thought.
Thank you all for your comments…very interesting discussion. Just wanted to share the experience of a friend. Her husband came home late and she prepared a meal for him. Shortly after eating he came down with what looked like a serious case of food poisoning. My friend first wondered what food had made him sick and then had to overcome guilt and self-condemnation. But as she turned to God in prayer she realized that the only thing that had ever gone into that meal was love, God’s love. Her husband was instantly healed.
For my part it helps me to realize no matter what food I put into my refrigerator it never has a problem with it,
Read the blog and all your comments on my lunch…. I am filled up full with the Truth! Thank you Evan and thank you all:-)
I have cooked professionally, fed a family for many years, and love to feed people and animals. It is true that the food we eat is spiritual food. However, I have noticed that if I cook for any other reason except to express love, beauty, harmony, grace, joy nothing turns out correctly. the main ingredient is love always.
I love Nadine’s comment, “the main ingredient is love always.” I had a very dear friend who said if she didn’t make the bed with love, she would do it over again. Love, love, love!
Thanks for all the beautiful comments today and your words, Evan.
Thank you – Yes that is right, do everything with Love!
As a student of nursing I learned to make even the bed with Love!
And a funny phrase in German says: “Love goes through the tummy”. I think this phrase is used humorously when you are married and cook for your husband.
And what Nadine said is very right. Paul said to the Corinthians “… and LOVE is the greatest among all” (qualities).
Am happy to comment together with you all – such a lively, joyful and healing blog!
For Uta, Germany
This is the English proverb ~ The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.
Thank you, dear Shireen,
In English the proverb is much nicer than in German, I find 🙂
I love your explanation to Grace, Evan. It puts an understanding light on the passage. Thank you and all commentators.
Oh thank you Evan and all for your wonderful comments, given in such a loving way, to my questioning. It is now very clear to me. We are constantly uplifting human concepts to the divine and in doing so, the human scene is purified, refined, and taken a. notch higher for all mankind. I’m so thankful. I almost didn’t comment the first time but so grateful I did because your answers all opened up to me the importance of love in all we do. I love the idea of love being the main ingredient, even in food preparation! Each one, thank you!
Thanks for the thought prompt on this topic. I felt I must share and contribute.
It all has to be about inspiration.
A few months into my study of Christian Science I was taking my usual morning refreshment break as a teacher in the staff room, I stood in the queue with everyone else anticipating a warm drink and a warm sausage roll. I then had the thought as to how ridiculous it was to believe that the drink and food could possibly prepare me to face that upcoming class of lively adolescents.
What I needed in the next hour was inspiration, ideas, composure, courage, understanding, enthusiasm, joy, vitality, humour, patience, perseverance, wisdom, intelligence and a host of other good qualities. I knew I would find non of those qualities in a sausage roll or a cup of tea.
So back to the beginners basics – ‘To those leaning on the sustaining infinite today…( the next hour even)..is big with blessings’.
God knows the angels that we need from moment to moment and they provide the food of Love.
Happy Days.