I sat down at the dinner table, husband and children joining me. Taking a moment to pray before our meal, I thanked Jesus for our food and prayed for his blessing. While I prayed, I felt slightly off. As I thanked God for the mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets that graced our table, I couldn’t help but think, God never gave us this to eat.
Sure, he has blessed us with work and provision to buy such food, and for that I certainly thank him. This was more of a feeling that the actual food on the table wasn’t even remotely close to what God created for food. That it was never what He intended for us to eat.
What Does Scripture Say About God’s Design for Food?
In Genesis 1:29, after creating man, God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” (Genesis 1:29) Later, after the flood, God told Noah and his sons, “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.” (Genesis 9:3)
Whole books have been written on God’s plan for food and health. However, I think these very clearly and simply point out to us that God’s original intent was for us to be sustained through His creation, not our own (emphasis mine). Man has taken God’s creation for food, heated, stripped and altered it beyond recognition, and packaged it as food.
Food, by definition, is any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink in order to maintain life and growth.
It’s no secret that real, whole foods like fruits and vegetables provide a bounty of vitamins, minerals, and fiber our body needs to function properly. In addition, certain meats also contain beneficial nutrients needed to maintain health.
On the contrary, highly processed food is devoid of nutrients needed to maintain health. Instead, it is chuck full of ingredients that, over time, steal our health and well-being.
If we go back to the definition of food, do the processed and packaged things we’ve come to call “food” actually fit that definition? I would argue that most items found in a package aren’t actually nutritious, no matter how much they market so. I would also argue that they do not help people to maintain life or growth. In fact, much of it has been shown to deteriorate quality of life and eventually lead to health conditions that often lead to death, such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.
A Call to Question and Challenge Our Way of Eating
The modern foods we eat are a far cry from God’s original design for food. Paired with our modern culture of busy and convenience, we’ve become a generation of people relying on the foods God never intended for us to eat. We’ve been called not to conform to the patterns of this world, though. Instead, we’ve been called to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. It’s my hope that reading this has spurred your own curiosity and questions, and prompts you to dig further into the Word of God for yourself so that you can test and approve what His will is — His good, pleasing and perfect will for your health and well-being.