FoodTalk With Kotter and Trimark, Day 4

Now for the conclusion of week one…

While you believe it is important for people to understand the relationship between food and energy, you both take care to stress that there is a deeper problem here than simple thermodynamics…

Quite true. At its heart, overeating is not an issue of thermodynamics or economics but is primarily the result of a spiritual problem.  Food is a gift from God to be enjoyed, but only with His purposes in mind.  Paul exhorted believers, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.”  The Bible is a guide for eating to God’s glory and by design this is intended for our well-being.  We are not restricted to specific foods only found in the book of Genesis or the clean animals of Leviticus.  Rather, the Bible addresses the fundamental problem of sin in the human heart and its effect on how we eat.

Eat and Be Content will argue that obesity is primarily a symptom of the spiritual problem of discontentment, and therefore governmental, sociological, or economic solutions in isolation will necessarily fall short.  Contentment results from either having all that is desired or not desiring all that could be obtained.  Since food is required to survive, hungering and eating to contentment is part of the necessary rhythm of life.  In the past, the primary challenge for most people was to obtain enough food to avoid famine and possibly even to satisfy hunger.  Eating to excess was reserved for kings and the wealthy who could afford all the food they desired.  Since then, dramatic improvements in agricultural technology have made an enticing variety of foods widely available.  Rather than gnawing hunger, most people today face the spiritual problem of abundant food and unbounded desires.  God’s original design is for people to enjoy and be sustained by food.  The challenge is to understand how to limit desire in a way that is consistent with God’s good design.  Like the apostle Paul, we must learn to eat and be content (Philippians 4:11, 12).

And the good news is that we can learn to eat and be content…

Yes, while people will never be content with the gift of food apart from the gospel, the simple truth that the death of Jesus Christ has broken the dominion of sin and accomplished reconciliation with a holy God for all those who believe.  The power of the gospel brings salvation to believers, transforms desires through sanctification, and empowers obedience to the will of God even in the area of eating. Thus the only long-term solution to eating problems consists not of simply dieting and taking more exercise, but in repentance, fleeing temptation, relying on the power of the Holy Spirit for self-control, praying for wisdom, searching the scriptures for direction, and caring more for God’s glory than our own satisfaction in eating.  Only by hungering for God Himself will we ever be able to eat and be content (1 Timothy 6:8).

Thank you David and Jeff for your helpful perspective on both the problem of overeating and it’s ultimate solution in the power of the gospel. We look forward to continuing this interview next week.