Here are a few more follow up thoughts to the organic/gluten-free/free-range bruhaha from a few weeks ago. If you’re just joining us, you can catch up here and here.
First, one friend asks whether there is a middle ground between tyrannical legalism (everyone must eat brussel sprouts!) and complete moral apathy (food doesn’t matter, stuff your face!). Shouldn’t we care about the process of making food? Shouldn’t we make (as much as is possible) wise and moral choices to be good stewards of our bodies and creation? Shouldn’t we care if some food is better for you than others?
Yes, we should care. But, BUT, we need to listen really carefully here. Because food and health has been at the center of our rebellion against God since the beginning. Our track record is extremely iffy. We don’t listen very well when God talks to us about what’s on the menu or what’s good for us. God said: eat your heart out in this garden and live forever. All of it is yours except for the one tree in the middle of the garden: IT’S BAD FOR YOU. And the next chapter there’s forbidden fruit juice dripping off our chins.
So if you want to have this conversation, let’s start with a deep, healthy (ha!) suspicion of human nature and our ability to judge rightly. God speaks clearly and serpents show up five minutes later and deceive us. That’s how messed up we are. Don’t get all preachy with your all natural, fiber chips; don’t go pontificating about the wonders of magic beads and expect me to take you seriously unless you are simultaneously wearing a hard hat, a reflective jacket, and you’ve got one of those climbing harnesses wrapped around your waist like six times.
Call me jumpy, but the history ain’t pretty. Eve ate the fruit. Cain sacrificed veggies. Israel lusted for leeks, grumbled about miracle bread, and gorged themselves on gourmet quail. We’ve got the sons of Eli stuffing themselves with sacrifices while getting laid in the back room of the tabernacle. Israel didn’t keep the feasts of God, didn’t give the land her Sabbaths, and so it vomited them out of the land and scattered them to the nations of the earth.
Let’s see, what else?
The Pharisees gripe about people washing their hands before dinner, Peter has food fellowship issues, and most of the letters of the New Testament contain warnings about striving, wrangling, and debating… about what? You got it: food.
Jesus gave us an incredibly simple meal and gave us just one command: do this as my memorial. And after two thousand years, we still have people bowing to it, kissing it, hiding it, saving it, changing it, and avoiding it. Jesus just said to eat it with thankful hearts we when get together. And we’re still trying to figure out if it goes on our heads or in our pockets or if it would be better with kool-aid and cookies. Our track record pretty much stinks.
And then somebody shows up all breathless and wants to share the wonders of fish oil. Paint me skeptical. Not because I don’t believe God loaded this world with wonders. Not because I don’t think there are huge, mind-blowing blessings still to be discovered, uncovered, invented. I do. And there will be. I’m not skeptical of God, His gifts, or the monster glories still hidden, waiting for us to uncover. I’m skeptical of people. I’m skeptical of human hearts.
Of course everything we do must be done in faith. We order cheeseburgers in faith. We deep fry our twinkies in faith. We farm in faith. We garden in faith. We choose the week’s menu and go grocery shopping in faith. Which means that we want to offer it all up to God as worship in Jesus’ name. Part of that worship is what we offer. But the Bible is full of warnings that so often the deepest, most insidious problems are not in what we do but in how we do it. And the perennial temptation of humans is to think that if they believe they picked the very best apples, the healthiest snacks, and the freest chickens, then somehow whatever they are doing is automatically good. But meanwhile they’re snarling at their wife and kids. They’re complaining about their house, their body, their clothes, their boss, their work, their church.
Look, I think you should eat healthy, exercise, and generally avoid foods that do bad things to you or the world God made. Got that? But here’s the huge — like the size of the Grand Canyon — caveat: our knowledge and understanding of that whole subject matter is about the size of a chickpea. And it’s constantly changing, shifting, updating, reversing. And on the other hand, we know a LOT about what our hearts are supposed to be like while shopping, eating, and sharing table fellowship. Our hearts are supposed to be full of the fruits of the Spirit (yum): humility, grace, kindness, joy, gentleness, with grace heaped up and spilling over all of it.
Yes, all things being equal, people should take care of their bodies, animals, and creation as best as they can. But we know that the best way to do that is to stop looking at porn, stop using foul language, stop yelling at your wife and kids, stop getting drunk, to work hard with our hands, to stop complaining about your husband, to stop being lazy, to stop worrying, to be generous with our time, talent, and resources, to laugh with our children, to tell people about Jesus, to sing Psalms, to worship the Triune God every Sunday. The Bible tells us clearly that is how we can best take care of our bodies, the creatures in our care, and creation as a whole. Stop stealing. Stop lying. Stop coveting. Honor your mom and dad. Don’t murder anybody (or hate them in your heart). You can take that to the bank. For Christians, there should be a huge and obvious distinction between these priorities (10 Commandments/Fruits of the Spirit/Sermon on the Mount) and where your coffee beans came from.
And yes, I know it’s *possible* to support oppressors and unjust tyrants when you buy your coffee beans. But it’s one thing to know for certain that it is true, and it’s another thing entirely to be herded along by the liberal scaremongers. Turns out some times, those kids in African factories are getting some of the best money in the best conditions on the continent, even if it seems minuscule and rough by our standards.
One last thought, anticipating another question: What about our postmillennialism? What about taking dominion of the earth? What about cultural progress? Shouldn’t we want to see our great-grand children taking dominion of nutritional and agricultural science and medicine for the glory of Jesus? Yes, of course. If we want to see progress, shouldn’t we give them a head start now? Yes, most definitely. We start schools, churches, businesses, and teach our children that every square inch of all of creation belongs completely to Jesus. No square inch escapes the Lordship of Jesus, including food, economics, medicine, agriculture, politics, and the members of Green Day riding llamas. Yes, and amen.
But in order for it to be true creation dominion, true progress, real postmillennial building for the future, it must be built out of the lasting materials of the Spirit. Some build with hay and stubble, and that ain’t gonna cut it. We need gold, people. Which is to say that Christians need to study and learn and investigate all these areas, but what often passes for a “Christian” approach to food and farming and economics is young college punks slapping Jesus fish on whatever the latest liberal slogan is. Take something slightly edgy, find a Bible verse that kind of sounds like it’s defending it, and then blog it, baby.
Teenagers do this with skinny jeans, black eyeliner, messy hair in the face, and whatever else is the latest, trendiest way to give the finger to authority. Hello, let me show you my insecurity card, my father-hatred, my whiny-fussy heart by dressing up like all the other middle-class white kids who haven’t found the peace of Christ. And of course lots of Christian kids get duped and run along with whichever way the wind is blowing. And they want to know: What’s the big deal? The Bible doesn’t saying anything about lip rings. It doesn’t say anything about tattoos. It doesn’t say anything about messy hair. Right, it doesn’t. But it does say that we may not love the world or the things of the world. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world (1 Jn. 2:16).
It’s the same phenomenon only 10-15 years later with food and health issues. It’s the same breathless excitement only now it’s organic veggies and diet fads and hemp dresses and incense and magical oils and deodorant that doesn’t work. Of course, I know that some of you have come to it completely innocently. Your parents farmed, gardened, and used the oils. Your dad’s name was Jedidiah, he wore overalls every day of his life, and can fix anything. He loves Jesus and makes fun of the stupid magazines at the Coop. Hey, that’s awesome. That’s great. Remember to be a good neighbor, use discernment in your selections, and remember not to make your choices the gold-standard. But if you’re just joyfully receiving what you’ve been given, then God bless you. If your heart is just thankful, you’re not disobeying the clear teaching of Scripture, then do what you think is best before God and give thanks. That is real culture building. I’m not talking about you.
But the spirit of the age is blowing hard, as it does in every age. And the spirit of this age is gusting with gluten allergies and organic soil and free range mountain goats and the trendy knick-knacks of old wives tales. If you can see the idols, if you can see the shrines and you chuckle and roll your eyes at the paganism in your local Food Coop and farmers market and pick and choose your products carefully, then great. It’s all clean. It’s all sanctified by prayer and thanksgiving. But if you don’t see, if you don’t think there are any idols, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, then I am talking about you.
Everybody knows the Shopping Mall is full of idols to consumerism and trendiness and sex and popularity and materialism and greed. Everybody knows about those shrines (or at least they should by now). But I’d like to see a little more discernment among the consumers of granola. How about just as much skepticism over the Food Coop as Walmart, just as much discernment in the Farmers Market as in Old Navy?
Stephen says
“…most of the letters of the New Testament contain warnings about striving, wrangling, and debating… about what? You got it: food.”
How is this not what you are doing? Was there some big argument about food I wasn’t privy to before you posted about it on your blog and people started bickering on facebook?
I don’t want to sound hostile, I’m not. It does seem though that Paul told us to submit to the weaker brother perhaps in order to avoid striving, wrangling, and debating.
Romans 14:1-3
“Now him that is weak in the faith receive, not to [the] determining of questions of reasoning. One man is assured that he may eat all things; but the weak eats herbs. Let not him that eats make little of him that eats not; and let not him that eats not judge him that eats: for God has received him.”
Toby says
Stephen,
Fair question. But I think the answer is Romans 14. Paul gives instructions for dealing with food squabbles, and his instructions are not in themselves falling prey to his warnings. And sometimes warnings address open and well known hostilities, and other times, they are revealing the hostilities that are there only hidden somewhat under the surface of what has become routine. Hope that helps.
Pete says
This is awesome. If you took out the little bit about post-millenialism, I’d post it on facebook and share it with my creation loving, Christian friends at arocha.ca and arocha.us.
Is that a possibility?
john says
Good article. It made me think a lot…the rebellion in us, the spiritual warfare everywhere.
I hope to raise my kids with common sense like this.
Matthew N. Petersen says
“Eve ate the fruit. Cain sacrificed veggies. Israel lusted for leeks, grumbled about miracle bread, and gorged themselves on gourmet quail. We’ve got the sons of Eli stuffing themselves with sacrifices while getting laid in the back room of the tabernacle. Israel didn’t keep the feasts of God, didn’t give the land her Sabbaths, and so it vomited them out of the land and scattered them to the nations of the earth.
Let’s see, what else?
The Pharisees gripe about people washing their hands before dinner, Peter has food fellowship issues, and most of the letters of the New Testament contain warnings about striving, wrangling, and debating… about what? You got it: food.”
As far as I can tell, this is good evidence that what we have been doing is wrong, and it needs changed. Should it take precedence over other things? No, of course now, it’s wrong to do that to any part of the Torah. But then you seem to think that other parts of the Law should take precedence over this part.
Second, while I agree we should be discerning at the Farmers Market, that doesn’t mean we should be skeptical of it. It may well be that this is a good thing, and is overthrowing tyrannies of Walmart, etc. I mean, you don’t say we should be just as skeptical about the tea part as about the liberals, about small government as about big government, etc. Would you?
Finally, I don’t think that this is a food “craze”, as if the people caught up in it are crazy. Rather, they sense, in some way, that the current way farming and shopping is impersonal, and therefore, damaging. Sure, we don’t have a path to follow out of it, and so we get out poorly. But we don’t help people out by pointing out that aren’t acting sensible, but by helping them find a path. We already know we aren’t acting sensible. We need a path, and people to help guide our feet.
Toby says
“I mean, you don’t say we should be just as skeptical about the tea part as about the liberals, about small government as about big government, etc. Would you?”
Actually, yes I would. Only as it turns out, the gravity of human nature tends to pull consistently in certain directions — so it can sound one sided. But Christians should always use discernment and never let their guard down. If a deceptive serpent got into the Garden of Eden, there’s nowhere safe this side of glory.
Matthew N. Petersen says
Which is why the “God doesn’t care” nonsense is so damaging: If we explicitly say that God’s Word cannot light our path (which is what that claim says), we rule out the only possible guide for our feet.
Emily H. says
Thank you Toby. Thank you so much. As a transplant from a part of the country where fried twinkies is a part of the culture, I was definitely shocked when I moved to crunchy Northern Idaho. Some of the shock was good–great even–but then there were other parts of this new culture that I felt I had to adopt in order to be “in the club”. I HAD to eat organic. I HAD to LIVE at the gym. I HAD to believe that my food allergies defined my life. And I had to talk about all of this stuff–obsessively. It was hard to one; not be suckered into thinking that this was not only good but right and two; not feel completely discouraged at the same time. My mom taught me that good things should not become God things–nothing, outside of God himself, should be an idol. So yeah, now I eat more kale than I did in the past (because I LIKE it–not because I think I have to), but if I have a scoop of ice cream after a meal every once in a while, I don’t think that’s bad. I think to think that God likes ice cream. And I’m tired of people giving me the evil eye when it’s in my buggy at the grocery store. So again–thanks. Color me encouraged.
Matthew N. Petersen says
Can I respond to comments too?
Where can I see that skepticism manifested? I see lots of skepticism of those liberals, but very little of us conservatives, but perhaps I’m missing it.
Matthew N. Petersen says
But even if you would say we should be skeptical of conservatives, would you say we should be “just as” skeptical of conservatives as of liberals?
Ells says
I like this article….makes more sense and is less of a blog rant than the first one. And I think that is Brussel*s* Sprouts….common mistake. Nevertheless, Christians need to pay attention to where they put their money all the way around. If God has blessed them with money, they need to make sure they aren’t supporting things – think wall street and whether your 401K is supporting abortion. It’s all tied to together. These issues are not separate. And it’s a lot easier to witness to your neighbor – farmer’s market – than nasty Monsanto. Anyway, that’s how the food issue stands with me, but I make my own food choices guided by my conscience and let other Christians do so as well.
Cle Callihan says
Organic? My husband is an Ag scientist. We read the hard fact statistics. Foods labeled “organic” does NOT mean there were no herbicides or pesticides used in their production. It only means that that there is a requirement for a *minimal percentage* of those chemicals to be used. PLEASE don’t believe the main stream media about foods or anything else. They freely admit they say what sells. Let God’s people use the brains He gave to them. Wisdom comes from the Lord.
One more thing: We have time on our hands to shop for what we consider the “best foods” because big corporations like Monsanto and hundreds of others like it have made it possible for farmers to grow sufficient food to not only feed our country but export to less wealthy countries. While we wealthy Americans pay only 10% of our income for food, most countries in the world pay from 25-50% or more of their monthly income for food. While we have leisure time to write blogs and emails, most people in the world are working day and night to scratch up enough money to buy one or two meager meals a day (rice and/or beans) for their families. Are we quibbling about food while much of the world goes hungry? “To whom much is given, much is required.” CHRISTIANS, THINK ABOUT IT!