2 Corinthians 11:27
Food is a part of our culture. Have you noticed that? It's ingrained. We eat to celebrate. We eat as we grieve. We provide food as support. We laugh, fellowship, and bond over food. There is something about food that is connected to almost every major and minor event in life.
I'm not sure how this developed, and know that we are not alone. There really is something about sharing a meal with people. It's intimate. It does help foster bonds.
I recently had the opportunity to go on my first international mission trip. I was blessed to go to Kenya, which I absolutely loved. They eat very differently than we do, and our hosts were very kind and conscientious to make sure we were well fed. At one point, we actually requested to be fed less. We had more than enough to be satisfied.
However, while there we were surrounded by people who not only didn't have enough to be satisfied, they often didn't know when or where their next meal was coming from. One of our team members, who's willing to eat anything, at a flying termite just to gross the rest of us out. We'd been teasing him for several days, but the truth of the matter is those abundant insects are what sustains many people from day to day. They truly are food.
Most of us can't even imagine it. It's one thing to be crazy enough to eat a bug, but it's another to be hungry enough to have to eat them.
The above verse, as Paul is talking about his hardships, reminds me of these people. They know true hunger and thirst, to the point of starvation. For the most part, we do not.
One day, I think I'd like to keep less food in my house. To eat what's there or get rid of all the extra stuff that accumulates over time. However, right now I'm not in my own house, so I don't have that authority. That's why it's important for me to learn how to limit my consumption with an abundance of product. To dig in, seek self-control, and remember - day to day - that I'm to eat for life, not live to eat.
When I have some down time and get bored, that's hard to remember. When we're celebrating a birthday, that's hard to keep in the forefront of my mind. But it is a journey. A journey that won't be straight and pothole free, but one that I've committed to and will continue. Because I really do want to be healthy.
Even when I'm frustrated.
Even when I'm exhausted.
Even when I'm overjoyed.
It's about being healthy. Taking care of my body. Honoring God and being here for my family.
So today, I will choose to eat for health, not live to eat.
No comments:
Post a Comment