What is God's intent for food?
This blog post is part of the "Unveiled" series from the Wild For You blog -- check out the series at https://www.wildforyou.org/blog
In this blog I’m talking about the veil of body image. I think we are all very familiar with this topic and all of the different voices that are speaking to it right now. Diets, anti-diets, Instagram models, normalizing normal bodies -- there is so much (good and bad) out there! So instead of adding to the noise, I want to change the conversation. We can look to the science of nutrition, or look to the feelings our body gives us, but I would rather ask: what did God intend for food, what does the Bible say about it and what does that mean for us?
Before I dive into those questions, I want to start by saying that our true purpose in this life is to love God, love others, and share the Gospel. That’s it. And guess what? That purpose has nothing to do with our outward appearance, our weight, or how we feel about our body image. So more than anything else, let’s focus on our true purpose and worry about everything else after that!
So, what was God’s intent for food? Although this is an impossible question to truly answer, I believe it was intended for functional purposes and as a gift! We need food in order to fuel our bodies, but God didn’t have to make food delicious or beautiful. Different flavours, textures, and colours make food interesting, fun, and exciting. Food is also a gift in that we can serve others by being hospitable, feeding the hungry, or building community with others around a table. Because of the functional aspect of food, we can use it as a tool to love one another knowing that everyone needs to eat and helping meet those needs for them.
The Bible talks about food a lot. Most of the time it brings up food when people are gathering! I love this. Food brings people together, and I think that is one of the biggest gifts God has given us with food! Although interaction is limited right now, being fully present with friends or family around a table is one of the easiest ways to connect and catch up. God has also created so many different and diverse kinds of food. He gave us both plants and animals to eat. The foods that were eaten in biblical times are still some of the best options to eat today. Some great examples are olive oil, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grain breads. Most of the issues with food humans have run into have been because of the foods we’ve created that are artificial and highly processed, rather than eating what God has provided.
So what does this all have to do with the veil of body image? I think it is all connected. I think our society has led us down a path of obsession with ourselves and our bodies. I heard in a sermon recently that “we are not called to worship a temple, we are called to worship from a temple”. If our bodies are the temples, then our focus should be on worshipping God. But does this mean we trash the temple? Of course not. We should respect our bodies, and take care of them. The foods God gave us do an amazing job of giving us energy, helping to build community and are delicious to eat! Eating well and exercising is important because it allows us to live out our true calling of furthering His Kingdom best, not just because it makes our bodies look good by society’s standards. If we focus on eating the foods that God created for us, in portions that are appropriate for us (the Bible has a lot to say about portions as well) and are active each day, not only will we begin to tear the veil of negative body image, but we will feel better and more equipped for our true purpose.
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