by Pastor John Kim

Greetings to the LBC family and friends!

Jonathan Edwards Resolution #40
Resolved, to inquire every night, before I go to bed, whether I have acted in the best way I possibly could, with respect to eating and drinking. (Jan. 7, 1723)

1 Corinthians 10:31 calls us to live to the glory of God, even in our eating and drinking. We often think that there might be areas of our lives where God is not so interested because we think they are so mundane or maybe even think that there is no inherent spiritual value attached to them because it seems to be that way to us. But all of life is meant to be seen through the lens of how we view God and God is very much interested in even how we eat and drink.

Now there are some that take it to an extreme and create a legalistic system of dietary laws that forbids the eating of certain kinds of foods. Scripture seems pretty clear that the dietary aspect of the Mosaic law was no longer to govern their lives. God even gives an explicit statement to the apostle Peter in Acts 10:15, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”

But how are we to relate the glory of God in our eating and drinking? We must start with our hearts. Even as we eat and drink throughout the day, do we thank God for His provision? Are our prayers genuine in expressing gratitude to God? How about when we go out with others to eat a meal – do we see our selfishness guiding the decision making process as where to eat? Another thought might be as to the motivation behind eating – do we eat so as to present ourselves pleasing to man? Are we so concerned with our figure or how others perceive us that it dictates how we eat and drink? Or do we seek to win the approval of man by eating and drinking certain things that we think will show that we are worthy of their approval?

Another thought would be do you use your times of eating and drinking to promote genuine fellowship with other believers? Do you maybe take time to have lunch with an unbelieving co-worker so that you can build a relationship with him/her and share the gospel? As Mark Devers shares in his book on evangelism, he even goes back to the same places to eat, not so much because of the menu but because of the opportunity to build a relationship with people.

Edwards went as far as to watch his diet so that he would not hinder his ability to study and be sober and focused throughout the day. He ate minimally but he did eat regularly with his family and even used those times to share with his family. So even in regards to what kind of food you eat, you can see it in some measure in relation to how it affects your physical abilities. I would say that there needs to be discernment in this area as it could easily become excessive but it would still be reasonable to ask how your eating and drinking affects your physical body in relation to how you are able to do God’s work.

It’s not simply just about the material substance about food and drink that is at stake. At the end of the day, can we look back as Edwards exhorts us, and see if we have acted the best way we possibly could have in respect to eating and drinking and all that is related to those things? It would be profitable for us to examine our hearts in this matter and see if we are submitting even our eating and drinking habits to the Lordship of Christ. There is no matter too insignificant when it comes to being a follower of Christ and I would encourage you all to do some practical inventory as to your eating and drinking habits.

Have a great rest of the week!

In His grace,
Pastor John