I’ll Have the Milk… and Solid Food by Pastor Darren Cowdrey
How do you correlate your spiritual health and your physical health, especially in your diet? These two components of our being are definitely related. I’d argue one leads to the other.
You may have seen where the FDA just disqualified 7 cereals from the ‘healthy’ list. This list includes Raisin Bran and Honey Nut Cheerios among others. The culprit? Sugar… a surprise to some, but not to others. We want so much to be able to eat what we want, and for it to be healthy. But our body tends to crave the quick jolt of pleasure over the long term positives of healthy eating. And in our commercial market it behooves a company to give us what we want right now.
In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul talks a bit about food. He’s using it more as a metaphor for growth. In this case he’s telling a church that they are young in faith because they are fighting. He tells them they need spiritual “milk” instead of “solid food” because they aren’t ready for the deeper challenges and complexities of faith.
Paul wasn’t really talking about food, but I wonder how the metaphor might work for our current struggle with food. Do we turn to the instant gratification of food because we don’t have a grasp of the higher value of food for longer term health,… and ministry. Yeah, I said ministry. Longer life means more time to live out and share the life-giving love of God with others. And healthier eating should also lead to more energy and focus; two other helpful components to a rich life and ministry.
In the end, our diet is just one of many components that we manage with the goal of a rich life. Would that pivot of focus be a benefit to you on that journey?