How many times a day do you ask yourself “what should I eat?” Often this thought is accompanied by comparing one food or another in the scale of “how will this effect my body?” One third of Americans are overweight making diet a hot topic of conversation. But is all the talk about the best foods to eat bringing about better health, or is it consuming our thought and keeping us from feeling satisfied with our health and body image?
Jesus had an interesting relationship with food. He started his career with a forty day fast in the wilderness. He then went on to be a prominent guest at the extravagant feasts of wealthy tax collectors and pharisees. This was probably why Jesus’ detractors called him a glutton and a winebibber. These various accounts seem to paint contrary images of how the master treated food. In the context of Jesus teachings in the sermon on the mount it makes more sense: “take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?… But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Whether he was fasting or feasting, Jesus wasn’t concerned with what he was or wasn’t eating. The substance that he sought was spiritual.
Jesus was nourished by the spiritual sustenance of Divine Love. Instead of putting stock in material food to make him whole and healthy, he relied first on Spirit for nourishment. Mary Baker Eddy explains this in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures on page 388 where she writes “The fact is, food does not affect the absolute Life of man, and this becomes self-evident, when we learn that God is our Life.” The more we learn about this spiritual fact the less we will look to food to fill up the perceived shortcomings in our life. In doing so the spiritual qualities of health, completeness, and beauty are reflected on the body and we will find dominion over material food.
We would love to hear from you in the comments section below about how you have found freedom from food related challenges. You can also join us on Wednesday’s at 7:30pm for our Testimony Meeting and at our Sunday morning service at 11:00am. Our Reading Room is another great resource to dig deeper and find helpful articles on how Christian Science heals. You can join any of our services on the phone at the following conference number:
Dial-in Number: 1-310-372-7549
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Great graphic to click the post!
My mom gave me a silver spoon Mrs. Eddy had designed with the words engraved “Mind not matter satisfies.”
Trying to remember that when attempting to balance the intake amounts of food.
Interesting to me that when I have been deep in thought, having my thought focused on listening for guidance from Mind, the gentle voice of God which whispers directions to us, I have been completely oblivious to appetite. Sometimes I think that if our thought is so filled with listening for direction, helping someone on their journey, or even concentrating on our own spiritual pathway, we are freed from the temptation to overeat, overindulge or, equally troubling, starving the body. Paying less attention to the body is a good start.
Practical perspective on the topic, 3rd NYC. And helpful comments, Carra and Pat. Thank you.
It seems that Jesus was always dining with his disciples somewhere. Maybe having material food ever present made fasting more difficult. But when thought is filled with real food, as Pat experienced, hunger will not be found so aggressive.
Sometimes at the grocer, when someone (maybe me) is standing studying some produce item, I may quip: Hard to find the perfect one for your last meal, is it?
Here’s to spiritual dining!