Luke 12:22-34
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not
worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will
wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn;
yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of
you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[b]? 26 Since you cannot do
this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet
I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of
little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do
not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your
Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will
be given to you as well.
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to
give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide
purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will
never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We live in
culture that celebrates food. We are a creative with food. We have a whole TV
network devoted to food. Some of the best family memories that many of us have
come from times shared around summer cookouts and holiday meals. Food is also
found in the Bible. In fact food is one of the things that God uses to shape
his people. From the OT into the NT you read about all kinds of festivals and
meals. There are lots of codes and regulations set on these meals and festivals
that help to define God’s people. The most significant meal and festival for
the Jewish people is the Passover meal. Every aspect of the Passover retells
the story of God rescuing his people from slavery. The Passover meal was
directed by God to be eaten and celebrated in a particular way every year. So
God uses food to shape his people in a particular way. Food matters.
Not only does food matter so does our bodies. Our bodies
are designed to be emptied so that we can be filled. That is part of the
intentional design. When it comes to gluttony the focus is on filling ourselves
rather than having food point to the giver of the food. Gluttony is not so much
a matter of the stomach as much as it is a matter of the heart. Gluttony is an
outward sign of what is going on inside. Perhaps you have heard the saying “You
are what you eat.” This saying is meant to remind us that if you put junk in
your body then your body will be junkie. If you put in healthy food then your
body will be healthy. With gluttony we can take a little bit differing take on
that popular saying. Instead of saying “You are what you eat” with gluttony you
could say that “You are how you eat.” Because how you eat is an indication of
how you are on the inside. Frederick Buechner a Christian author suggests that “A
glutton is one who raids the icebox for a cure for spiritual malnutrition.”[1]
Gluttony then is truly about spiritual malnutrition.
Talking about food is difficult because we often get
mixed messages. Our culture tells us that we should be able to eat whatever we
want and be as thin as we possibly can. Se we are to supposed to eat whatever
we want because it is our God given right. What I would like to suggest is not
a diet plan but rather take a look at our hearts. How are we trying to fill
ourselves?
Thomas Aquinas in his book called Summa Theological (a sum of theology around 1265) suggests
that there are five different ways that gluttony shows up.
too daintily
too expensively
too eagerly
too much
too soon
1. Too Daintily
This is about meeting food our way. It is about
control. When you walk into a typical eatery there are typically lots of ways
for you to customize your food. This is not about customizing your food. It is
about never being satisfied with the food you have. For those who have ever
worked in a restaurant or a food service job then you have probably experienced
the person who is never satisfied. The steak was well done but too well done.
The coffee was okay but off by a degree or two.
When we often find ourselves eating too daintily
because life is out of control and we can control food. CS Lewis paints a
picture of this in his book the ScrewTape Letters. One of the characters in the book falls into
this kind of habit and says “Please Oh, Please, all I want is a cup of tea, but
not too weak and a properly sliced piece of bread toasted perfectly.”[2]
She never finds any servant or friend
who can do these simple things properly. She has an insatiable demand for the
exact and impossible. When we are not sure about the promotion. When life is
uncertain. When we are concerned about the kids and our fears get the best of
us then we feel like we are losing control. We often feed our fear by
controlling this very tangible thing that is ring in front of us- food. But the
truth is that when we try and take control then we miss God’s truth. Jesus says
“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing,
why do you worry about the rest?” When we use food to try and feel in control
then we lose sight of the fact that we don’t need to be in control. We did not
create ourselves. We didn’t create the world. There is someone else who is in
control.
2. too expensively
If you have
ever been around toddlers you know that their emotions can go from zero to
screaming in seconds. Their emotions are big. When my boys were smaller they
loved cookies. They would want a cookie for breakfast , lunch and dinner. Now when
you tell a toddler “No, you can’t have a cookie” then the emotional meltdown
occurs. A cookie is a treat and is not meant to be eaten everyday at every
meal.. When we fall into the pattern of eating too expensively we find that our
day is unfulfilled without having treats. What is often going on behind that is
a need to feel valued. We need to prove that we are valuable to ourselves or to
others. We might think to ourselves “Nobody sees how hard I work” thus I need
this treat to get me through the day. I deserve this. My day does not feel
satisfying unless I eat this particular kind of muffin or cookie. I must have
this every single day.
This is person who shows up to your party with their
own drinks and snacks. They are not satisfied with what you might be serving. Look
at me I only have the best snacks and thus I am of value. When we start to fill
ourselves this way then we are preoccupied with proving ourselves to our self
and others. We miss the deeper kingdom truth that Jesus is telling us. Jesus
says “How much more valuable you are than birds!” God created us the great value! He see each
and every human being as valuable. When we try to use food to fill our sense of
value then we suffer from malnutrition.
3. Too eagerly
Perhaps you have eaten at a fast food style restaurant.
When you eat fast food do have your ever noticed that you don’t slow down to
enjoy the meal? Like when you are eating your combo meal you make sure that you
are sitting at a table with a plate, napkin, fork, knife. After every bite you
slowly chew your fries thanking God. We don’t do that. It is called fast food
for a reason.
We are eating
on the go, in our cars, and in our offices. Many of us don’t have time to
prepare food. We don’t have time to sit down at a table together. This form of
gluttony occurs when we are caught up in the cycle of busy and hurry. We fill
up our time and are so busy that we miss the gifts of God.
In the story of Jacob and Esau we get an account of
fast food. Esau has been out hunting all day and he comes home. Esau wants what
Jacob has been cooking. Esau says that if he does not have some of the stew
then he will just die. Esau does not stop to consider what he is doing. He just
wants some right now and he throws away his gift of birthright. When we find
ourselves in this pattern of too eagerly we think we that we have to provide for ourselves.
We seem to think that our lives will have more meaning
if we just fill up our time all of the time. We can’t pause. No time for reflection.
We are on the go. We must be productive and because being productive brings us
fulfillment or at least that is what we tell ourselves. When we find ourselves eating this way we are
often missing the gift from God. Food is a gift that was meant to be enjoyed
and shared. Jesus says “Consider the
ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds
them.” Jesus says look at these birds. They are not worried. God feeds them.
They did not have to earn their right to eat. They did not have to put in so
many hours before God would feed them. When our lives are running at breakneck
pace. When we are addicted to the rush of our lives. When we find ourselves eating
whatever, whenever with whoever and we don’t stop and reflect then when are you
opening yourself up to God? When do you take the time to be grateful?
We miss out on what God is telling. We miss that we
don’t have to earn our food. That God is a good God who provides regardless of
our productivity.
4. Too much
When you go to
a Mexican restaurant they put that bowl of chips and salsa in front of you. If
you are with family or friends it becomes like contest to see who can eat the
most chips before they run out. We all know that they are going to refill it
but the chips are just so good.. But we greedy take too much. We think that
there is not enough to go around. Our culture is built around the story that
there is not enough.
Were you aware that as a nation we waste about 40% of
the food that is available to us every year? This equals about 165 Billion. It
seems there is plenty of food.[3]
When you find yourself at Sams thinking I am going to get two of these. . . even
if I really don’t need 2 . . . but just in case I run out. We start to hoard
because we are seeking security. Jesus says “And do not set your heart on what
you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after
all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his
kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”
When we are trying to seek security in this way then
we will never feel secure. We know that the only way to feel secure is in a
heart that is rooted in God’s Kingdom. Trusting that God knows what we need.
Not what we want but what we need. It would seem that there is enough food for
everyone’s need but not everyone’s greed.
5. Too soon
This is a habit in our lives when eat not because we
are hungry. We are just trying to fill some space. We start snacking endlessly.
We are thinking about food constantly. We center our day around food. We fill a
space before there is even a space. We have been told time and time again that
Americans are overweight. Not just adults but kids as well. I can’t help but
wonder that reason why so many of us struggle with food is that we use it as
the drug to deal with our sense of loneness, emptiness, fear and hurt. In a
culture that proclaims how connected we are all supposed to be then why is it
so many people feel so lonely and it would seem fill that void with food.[4]
When we fall into this habit of too soon we often fear
that there is something that will consume us. If I allow this empty space then
there is something that will overtake me. When we stop allowing for a little
emptiness then we miss the invitation that Jesus gives to us. Jesus says “Do
not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the
kingdom.” When we try to fill all our emptiness with food we miss out on Jesus’
invitation into a kingdom that is a place of healing, wholeness and
restoration. Jesus’ Kingdom is a place where death does not get the last word
and our injuries don’t get the final say.
There are two ways that Christians have transformed their habits around
food for us to consider.
1. Fasting
Fasting allows for some emptiness in our lives. There
is a misconception about fasting. It is not about suffering or feeling hungry.
Fasting is a way of setting the stage. Fasting allows for some empty spots so
that God might interact with us in that emptiness. When we take something out
of our diet we are reminding ourselves that Jesus said that life is more than
food. That we humans don’t just live on bread alone. Our appetite for food is
an invitation to more than just food. It is a question about how we fill our
lives.
2. Communion
Communion has not always been called communion. It is also called the
Eucharist. That word means Thanksgiving. When it comes to communion we should
examine ourselves yet it is not just feeling sorrow for our sins. Communion is
also a reminder of God’s constant provision. The elements of communion are
simple and common items. These items are not something that only certain people
have access to. When we eat this meal we are saying that we need God’s good
gifts. That God gives us the things we need to sustain life. You don’t have to
be in control. You don’t have to prove your value. You don’t have to hoard and
you don’t have let your fears consume you. This is a good God who provides for
our needs which means we can transform our habits with food.
[1]
Wishful Thinking
[2] C.S.
Lewis, The Screwtape Letters: With, Screwtape Proposes a Toast (San
Francisco: HarperCollins, 2001), 88.
[3] Bill
, Briggs. "Americans throw away 40 percent of their food: study." NBC
News.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/americans-throw-away-40-percent-their-food-study-959078
(accessed August 3, 2013).
[4] The books Jacqueline Olds, The Lonely
American: Drifting Apart in the Twenty-First Century (Beacon Press, 2010)
and Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and
Less from Each Other ( Basic Books, 2012) point out how many Americans feel
alone and try to fill that void in their lives.
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