Making an Idol of Food

It is curious that in today's westernised society, if I were to say "Eating is my life!", or "I live for good food!", the comment would be laughed at politely, with some nodding their heads in agreement, smiling at me knowingly. Now, for the sake of a stark contrast, what if I said "Making-love is my life!", or "I live to have sex!" (assuming I'm married)? Those comments only invite disgust and disapproval (at least among Christian circles). What causes this huge difference in response? Both eating and procreating are natural activities that God planned for us to do; they are gifts that we have been given to enjoy. What has resulted in our lack of disgust or disapproval at the mention of people celebrating the indulgence of food?

Let's start at the very beginning...

The best place to start is always in the bible. When God made man, he also provided all the food man needed to survive, and made it to be enjoyed.

"And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food." - Genesis 2:9

"Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything." - Genesis 9:3

It is thus quite explicit that food is a gift from God and meant to be enjoyed. Indeed eating was (and still is) a strong component of the Jewish culture; God often instructed his people to celebrate their festivals with feasts (Exodus 23:14-16), and Jesus himself was often found feasting and enjoying great meals with people of all sorts (Mark 2:15-16, Luke 5:29-30). In our modern-day society, eating is of no lesser importance; our schedules are planned around meals, and what family get-together is complete without a great feast? Indeed, every year, the average adult spends about 670 hours consuming food, almost 30 days nonstop. Clearly, eating is a fundamental part of our lives.

The Cult of Eating

The question I'd like to pose now, however, is this: have we made eating an idol? Is it possible to sin through eating? Let me qualify my statement first by saying that I'm not at all referring to the consumption of "unclean" or "unholy" food, but rather, is it possible to eat or view eating in a manner displeasing to God?

I'd like to suggest that the answer to that is yes, and here's why.

"Gluttony" is a word that few like to think of. The very mention of it conjures up images of morbidly-obese people unceasingly gorging themselves on oily and disgusting looking foods. Calling someone a "glutton" is akin to calling them a "fat pig". http://dictionary.com defines "gluttony" as "eating obsessively". Let me suggest, however, that gluttony goes beyond merely overeating to having an unhealthy or obsessive view of food. Early monks in the fourth and fifth century certainly recognised this when they included "gluttony" as one of the famous seven deadly sins. Among those monks were Evagrius, Cassian, Gregory, and Thomas Aquinas, who outlined several evidences of gluttony, some of which are:

- Anticipating eating with preoccupied, eager longing.
- Eating excessively costly foods.
- Paying too much attention to food.
- Not being content with a reasonable amount of food.

Let's be brutally honest with ourselves: most of us (if not all) have been, or are guilty of gluttony, in any of its repulsive forms. Gluttony indeed has its roots deep within our sinful human nature.

The Lesson with Chips

The bible rarely mentions the word "gluttony", but certainly alludes to it in many passages. Consider the following verse:

"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people." - Ephesians 5:3

The question to ask is this: is gluttony a form of greed? I find it hard to see how it isn't. Our society has coined phrases such as "all-you-can-eat", but really, can-you-eat-all? This form of greed is perhaps best seen when you place, let's say, a large bowl of potato chips in front of a group of kids. Within milliseconds, arms fly and several hands simultaneously shove themselves into the bowl to grab as many chips as possible, for mouths not even big enough to handle each scoop. For the observing mother, it's time for a lesson on manners; for us, it's a lesson on our innate greedy human nature. Grown-ups, you see, are hardly different. We may have learnt to be more polite in public, but deep down, we want all the goodies for ourselves.

In the book of Romans, Paul writes that man, after rejecting God, has "become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity" (Rom 1:29). He again instructs the church in Colossia to "put to death...whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry" (Col 3:5). James condemns the rich who had been living only for themselves, saying that they "lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence" (James 5:5).

I do not wish to trivialise the many other forms of greed that God disdains (e.g. for power or wealth), but simply want to highlight that gluttony is a serious and very real form of greed, and it would do us good to deal with that issue in our lives to please God and realise the full life promised by him.

Man Shall Not Live by Bread Alone

If gluttony results from eating or looking at food through eyes stained with greed, overcoming gluttony is done simply by eating or seeing food in the way God intended us to. Food is a gift from God, as are all the many comforts God provides us in life, so we should use and enjoy it appropriately.

When Jesus was out in the desert for forty days, why did Satan tempt him with bread? It was to make Jesus believe that his hunger was simply proof that his life depended entirely on food alone. Jesus' reply was simple, yet thoroughly profound. Quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, he said, "It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." In doing so, Jesus showed his faith in God's word to sustain him (both spiritually and physically), and in that taught us how to rightfully see food. Necessary, but not crucial. To be enjoyed, but not indulged in. A gift, not an idol.

Let's Eat!

Having said all that, what can we now do about this? For starters, let's always remember that God gave us food for our pleasure, out of his perfect love for us. But the key to dealing with this gift is moderation, its antithesis being indulgence. Let's not think of food in an obsessive manner, or proudly consider ourselves utterly vulnerable to good food. A great meal or feast is wonderful occasionally, especially in celebrating events, but we should avoid being excessively lavish in eating or spending money on food. Let's exert self-control as necessary, not for the excuse of dieting because the doctor said so, but because we know that we do not live by bread alone, and should not let greed have any foothold in our hearts (or stomachs) whatsoever.

So if you feel uncomfortable when someone says, jokingly yet seriously, "I simply live for good food", your feelings are justified, for they're making an idol out of eating, and becoming willing slaves to it. Let's not be like those whose god is their stomachs, as Paul warns (Philippians 3:19).

The next time you give thanks before you eat, take a few more moments to sincerely thank God for food, for not only making it life-sustaining, but also appetising and very enjoyable to us. So crunch those potato chips and tuck into that juicy apple, but as we enjoy these good gifts, let's not forget the giver of all things good, our loving God.

"Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." - Philippians 3:17-21

References:
Dennis Okholm, "Rx for Glutonny", Christianity Today, 4 Sep 2000
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/010/3.62.html
Frederica Mathewes-Green, "To Hell on a Cream Puff", Christianity Today, 29 Aug 2000
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/135/23.0.html
"The Sin of Gluttony" - http://deadlysins.com/sins/gluttony.html