From all the comments posted on yesterday’s blog, deciding what to eat appears to be a top of mind issue!
It looks like it will take a few days of postings, more comments from you, and more thinking and pondering together to cover this issue even partially.
For me, making the right food choices starts with making moral and spiritual choices about the life I live.
To look at making choices from a different angle, for instance, if I’m looking for a book at Barnes & Noble, I’m guided by values I treasure when selecting a book. I look for healthy uplifting prose that takes my thought to a better place. I read to learn, to become a better person, to learn more about the world I live in and how to write better myself.
I am not attracted to the shoot’em up, wipe’em out, blast everything in sight, science fiction stories. Other people are. But I am not. I make choices. How else could I select a book? And my choices are guided by values I cherish.
Now back to eating.
Grocery shopping involves choices. You just can’t get around it. When you walk down the cereal aisle and see 110 different cereal brands to choose from and assuming you’re not Bill Gates and can afford to buy one of every box, or you can’t eat 110 boxes before they go stale anyway, you have to choose one or two or three.
Which box do you choose? You have to make a choice.
Do you grab the box of airy-fairy sugar poof-balls on the lower shelf that your five year old is pointing at, or the natural granola on the top shelf that is hard to reach and is more expensive?
Eating, cooking, shopping requires choices. Hmmm…
Sometimes, it seems that Jesus’ statement, “Take no thought for what you eat,” is used as a cover-up to make poor choices. I’m guilty too.
Like one man struggling with obesity said to me, “If it doesn’t matter what I eat, why can’t I have my box of doughnuts each morning?”
It has taken me many years to understand what Jesus was saying with his “Take no thought,” command, and I’m still trying to fully comprehend the spirit of his words.
But it seems to me “Take no thought…” does not mean choose whatever you want. Wants are often misguided.
The NIV translation states, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (Matt. 6:25)
When I read this, I see Jesus telling me not to make life conditional upon what I eat and drink, but to understand life first, and expect eating and drinking issues to be resolved favorably.
And here is perhaps the pivotal point to consider, is the real issue about the food, or the life we live?
What do you think?
More to come…
For me, food only has the power that we give it. If we stuffed and stuffed and stuffed a garbage can with food, the “chemistry” of the food would not affect the garbage can. The food and the garbage can are both material. It is the thought of the food, and the belief provided by so-called human law (which changes all the time) which, for me, needs to be healed. Food has no power, which is why I feel Jesus told us not to worry or be anxious about it. If you only had M&Ms available to you to eat, but were praying for others, and keeping your thought uplifted, those M&Ms would be enough to sustain you. David sustained his strength with just manna and water because he knew the Source of his identity was God. If we start to label foods as “healthy” or “not-so-healthy” then we are getting tripped up and mesmerized by what true sustenance is.
One way that I like to think about “dominion” is that it’s our God-given ability to make ever better choices. These choices, to a large degree, determine the course of our human experience. So I’m trying to get better at asking why I have made a particular choice. Why did I choose the chocolate cake over the apple? Was that the best choice? Was it an exercise in dominion?
I am interested to hear more on this topic. I have often thought about Jesus’s words to “take no thought” – it can’t mean a license to eat whatever you want, just as our safety from harm in God’s care can’t mean a license to walk out in front of a red light. We do need to take care that we are being wise. But, Americans are obsessed with health laws in this area, and I believe food issues can be a way for the carnal mind to argue that there is causation in matter, when in Christian Science we are always guided to put Spirit first. How can we make wise choices by having dominion but without making a god out of food and health laws?
This is such a great topic Evan. As someone that teaches whole food preparation classes for a living, as well as sustainable living on a budget workshops this is a subject I think/pray about often. For me is always comes back to MOTIVES! What are the motives I am supporting when I buy conventional produce that has been sprayed with 25 different pesticides. If I were to buy that apple thats been sprayed 25 times, I would be supporting unresponsible farming practices, I would be supporting people that care more about making money than respecting the environment. Same thing with processed foods, most all of them (probably 99% of processed foods) are manufactured with one thing in mind, How much profit will be made. I dont usually shop at a grocery store. I buy everything direct from farmers who love the earth, love the animals they raise, the produce they grow, the cheese they make. They are full of LOVE!! This is what I want to support, when I make my decisions based on supporting people with the right motives, people that express LOVE when they produce their food, then it is VERY easy to decide what to eat. I eat food that is grown in complete harmony with the environment. I eat food that has been nurtured, respected and loved. When I sit down to eat, I feel so connected to the incredible universe that is full of expressions of God. I smile as I take the first bite, knowing that by supporting Farmer Joe I am keeping green space around my city for local farms. It is so easy to make food choices when we become aware of what we are supporting with our choices, everything becomes so clear. As another person mentioned in a previous post, it is SO important not to just eat anything and literally take no thought. That is irresponsible. We have to be aware and make sure our daily choices are in line with our spiritual values. As I say in the classes I teach, would you cry or would you smile when you saw your food being produced?
Well, in agreement with the metaphysical/spiritual concept of the Biblical statement I will then say that obesity and over eating comes from “self”. Self justification, self consciousness, self love and too much thought of a human self. The antidote would be there is One Mind, One Ego in which we reflect. And, living this truth we find that there is not a personal human willful ego …. Thanks for the topic Evan.
Many years ago I finally decided to go meatless. I also wanted to be clear on my spiritual position in regards to this choice. Jesus’ comment about “take no thought” caused me to wonder if I was making too much out of this choice. I was led to understand as Evan’s remark show that our values lead us to make our choices and that’s the important thing. I love the remarks here and especially the idea that “would you cry or would you smile when you saw your food being produced?” I think it’s about love, appreciation and respect. Thank you so much for this beautiful blog and site.
Food beliefs are so closely tied with beliefs about the body and about health! We are all bombarded with images of what are “good” bodies, “healthy” bodies, “beautiful” bodies; AND we’re also bombarded with the related “laws” that we are supposed to obey.
At the heart of these is the (generally) unstated claim that if you eat the right foods, do the right exercises/activities, obey these human (and changeable) laws, you will have eternal life–you won’t get sick, you won’t die (so soon), AND you will be happy.
These are all lies.
I have been working on learning to eat foods that satisfy me and that don’t make me hungrier and to not turn to food for comfort. The result has been that I take less thought about what I eat. But in thinking about this discussion, I think that I need to be more vigorous about rejecting the claims and replacing them with the things that are true.
Thanks to you for your blogs on this topic and to the people who have shared so many helpful comments.
Great topic, great discussion in the comments. I agree that it comes down to motives, and that we’ll make the best “take no thought” choices when we are motivated by Love. I try to think about food choices the same way I think about other everyday things — which is to say that I try to see the spiritual choice that I’m making. Am I making a choice that blesses others, that brings greater joy and truth and spirit into my experience?
In terms of food, I find that this means cooking most of my own food, usually from local and simple ingredients. I find that cooking is a wonderful outlet for creativity and joy and sharing with others. I’m still working this out as well, but I find that eating that’s based on my spiritual values gets me closest to not worrying about food or its alleged effects on the body.
Jesus said that man doesn’t live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from God. I am coming to feel that my daily study of the Bible and Science and Health are really sustaining and nourishing me, my real daily bread, and I can just have as much as I want without fear or worry! At the same time, I find that I am eating smaller portions–and usually only twice a day without snacking. This isn’t exercising will power, it has just gradually happened as I’ve fed my spiritual hunger and physical cravings have lessened.
Once, I joined a weight-loss group called “Weigh-down Workshop” which had a somewhat spiritual outlook. The founder of that group is a nutritionist and my understanding was that we could eat whatever we felt hungry for in moderation–that it all turned into the same ‘stuff’! An article I once read in a CS Journal said if the children of Israel had been worried about the chemical composition of the manna, Moses might have had a revolt on his hands! All the beliefs about food-including food allergies, and all the power food is supposed to have to make us fat, thin, sick, well, healthy, energetic, etc. really takes the emphasis away from living by every word of God, and not just bread alone. Just think of Daniel and his ‘pules & water’–he and his friends were fairer and fatter in flesh than all those who had eaten the king’s meat!
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I think one of the most compassionate things MBE did was to point out that obesity comes from having “an adipose view of yourself as matter” (Mis Writings). She doesn’t judge whether people are/are not wrapped up in self or addicted to food or any other material explanation. She just states clearly and simply what the problem in thought is independent of matter or menu or fad.
One of the things I’ve found most helpful recently is stopping and asking myself why I’m eating (or shopping) once in awhile. If I remember and affirm that there is nothing in that store or refrigerator or on that shelf that will make me happier than God has already made me that moment the desire that is not truly spiritually expressive flees. When I operate out of that spiritually satisfied thinking all the other stuff doesn’t matter much any more.
Thanks for the interesting discussion Evan.
The early Christian Scientists classified foods as nutrition or self-indulgent. And you already know. Which do you think a carrot is? A hot fudge sundae?
As a mother in a big family, I did choose. There was always a big bowl of fruit in the kitchen. It was OK to bake a pie-seven people would eat it at one sitting. Later, I changed that to a cake. It would last at least two meals. Sometimes I would buy a six pack of soda. More often, I made my own with sparkling water and fruit juice. I would have salad and two or three vegetables, so at least one would suit each child. Then, I did not pay attention to what they chose, nor make an issue of compelling any compliance. Dinner from then on was about happy conversation, and events. We all ate together until occasional high school events made someone miss. Everyone helped with one rotating chore. It worked.
I was taught that motive was the most important thing.. My mother used to say “if you use a tsp of oil as a salad dressing it’s fine — if you use it as a laxative it isn’t”. I’ve always found it helps me to think that way.
Jesus said, “Take no thought for what ye eat.” Does this give a person “free license” to eat whatever they want to? No. It means to be sensible. Ever had that, “I shouldn’t eat any more ‘cause it’s too much”, thought rattle around in your head while eating? That’s God speaking. Moderation, not free license.
He also said, “If you drink any deadly thing, it shall not harm you.” Does this mean we can have a glass of anti-freeze with dinner every night? No. It means should something inadvertently occur we can reasonably expect God’s loving care to guide us through the problem. Protection, not free license.
Jesus was tempted by the devil to jump off a high building and God would protect him. The temptation to ignore God in like manner recurred many times throughout Jesus’ career. When telling the disciples about being hung on the tree, Peter said, “be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee” Jesus was tempted to believe that to fulfill God’s plan he didn’t have to follow God’s direction and responded, “Get thee behind me Satan.” Having free will, does not give us free license.
Ted Kennedy, in speaking of Chappaquidick said, “Atonement is a process that never ends.“ To expect temptation to disappear in our lives when even the Master had to face it daily, is expecting a bit much. Jesus’ atonement was daily, hourly, minutely, even as ours is. It helps me to contend with the many forms of “free license” presenting themselves to remember to be vigilant and strive for consistency. A daily task, if ever there was one.
Jim
What thought-inspiring posts. Thank you, Evan and posters in the comment section!
“Is life more important than food….?”
“…. is the real issue about the food or the life we
live?”
Wonderful questions and worthy of frequent consideration!
Hear! Hear! Great “food for thought” everyone – thanks!