“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31
I am sure we all must have been hearing –“Eat, drink and be merry” from the people around us and must have wondered is there anything else that we are to do in this world until we came to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The writer in Ecclesiastes 8:15, 3:12-13 tells us to enjoy this life that God has given leaving aside all the anxieties and tensions. Undoubtedly, God wants us to be joyful in all the circumstances, but then how can we live this life cheerfully and at the same time give glory to God by our eating and drinking as apostle Paul says in 1 Cor. 10:31?
I never understood this until now that we can actually glorify and worship God through our belly. God has made us perfect and the hunger, the taste buds, our organs -everything comes from God only. He has made us wonderful (Psalm 139:14) and we are to strive to achieve that perfectness that will unite us with Him. The temper will continue to tempt us but we need to claim victory by understanding that this mortal body will ultimately be merged in dust so why to gratify the lust of the flesh.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:16)
Eve looked at the fruit of the tree and when she was tempted, she ate that but when Jesus was fasting and was tempted by tempter, He overcame that temptation and thereby defeated the cry of the flesh. He set before us His exemplary life and we are trying hard to follow. In order to overcome this temptation of the flesh, Jesus asked us to fast and pray. He said in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” What a wonderful promise that Jesus has made with us that he will satisfy our hunger and thirst when we eat of Him i.e. remain in Him.
In this life we are full of choices and somehow we don’t know what and what not to eat. Prophet Isaiah correctly said, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food” (Isaiah 55:2-3). We need to choose healthy food that will keep our body going and functioning well. Feasting and celebrating shouldn’t be our daily affair no matter how much resources we have to buy those but should be limited to particular occasions. Gluttony is a sin and it takes the place of God in our lives in no time as apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:19, “….. their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.”
I thank God that when I came to Christ and asked about fasting after knowing that there is a particular fasting season for Christians, I was asked to leave that one thing that I can’t live without and immediately I said tea is something that I need everyday no matter what. From that day till today, I never desired tea in my life.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for making us understand yet another way to worship you, through controlling the desires of our living bodies as Romans 12:1 says offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Let us not be tempted beyond what we can bear and make food an idol in our lives. In Jesus name, Amen.
Sol. Neha