Watch What You Eat

            On any given day, the average American will be bombarded with advertisements for an endless number of restaurants and food products. Such advertisements come in the form of radio, television, newspapers/magazines, billboards, and more. Due to the overwhelming power of these ads as well as many other contributing factors, Americans and their eating habits are unhealthier now than perhaps any time in history. So in addition to the ever-expanding market for food advertisement, our daily lives are also flooded with weight loss and diet sales pitches. Needless to say, what we eat is more important to us today than perhaps it has ever been. Where does this infatuation come from, do we get it from the Bible? Although the Jews were given the many Old Testament dietary laws, with the establishment of the New Covenant, God granted man the freedom to eat from all of His creation. Despite these instructions for one’s physical eating habits, the Biblical emphasis we see has to do more with what we consume spiritually.

            A wonderful example of this spiritual consumption can be seen in the prophetic book of Ezekiel. While Ezekiel was being commissioned to go and speak God’s word to the people, he was commanded to “eat this scroll” (Ezekiel 3:1). This “scroll” contained God’s words and message for His people. Ezekiel was told to “feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll” (Ezekiel 3:3). The verb “fill” is important to note, Ezekiel was to be completely consumed with God’s word. His whole essence and purpose was to be sustained and fueled by the power of the word of God. Our Lord and Savior echoed these very words when He told Satan that “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word of God that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

           Instead of putting so much focus on what we physically eat or don’t eat, our concern should be with what we are consuming spiritually. Do we receive a daily portion of God’s word? Do we “fill” our bodies with the true life-preserving sustenance that God has given to us, or are we more focused on calories and carbohydrates? There are all sorts of gadgets and devices that keep track of and monitor our daily intake of fat, sugar, calories, etc.; however, is there anything letting us know if we are meeting our daily spiritual needs? While it is important to try and remain physically healthy, as with all things spiritual and physical, our spiritual health should always be our more pressing concern. If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, how much better prepared to face the world would we be if God’s word was on the menu every morning?

Jesse LeMay