September 18th, 2023
Luke 4:3-4
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’
The appetite for food is something that we all experience. We have to eat to survive and thrive. However, eating can become problematic. Eating disorders or being overweight are relatively common for the U.S. population. Not all are caused by inappropriately turning to food for spiritual fulfillment, but many likely are (Exline et al., 2016). Of course, the experience of eating can be spiritual in nature, which is a good thing and a gift from God. It is possible for an amazing meal to inspire the participants to greater spiritual heights. Jesus enjoyed eating with his friends and talked about banquets. However, eating cannot fill the emptiness when we have a spiritual void and are searching for the sacred, meaning, or purpose.
Religion psychologist Kenneth Pargament has defined false gods as “inadequate substitutes of the sacred that can…rush in to fill this spiritual void” (2007, p. 140). Food can become a false god, probably for some of us a lot of the time and for a lot of us some of the time. Of course, we have to eat; hunger and the need for food are inherent to life and bring us great
enjoyment. Still, it's good to remind ourselves of Jesus’ words that the point of life lies elsewhere.
JOURNAL:
When are the times you are tempted to use eating and drinking to fill a spiritual void in your life?
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’
The appetite for food is something that we all experience. We have to eat to survive and thrive. However, eating can become problematic. Eating disorders or being overweight are relatively common for the U.S. population. Not all are caused by inappropriately turning to food for spiritual fulfillment, but many likely are (Exline et al., 2016). Of course, the experience of eating can be spiritual in nature, which is a good thing and a gift from God. It is possible for an amazing meal to inspire the participants to greater spiritual heights. Jesus enjoyed eating with his friends and talked about banquets. However, eating cannot fill the emptiness when we have a spiritual void and are searching for the sacred, meaning, or purpose.
Religion psychologist Kenneth Pargament has defined false gods as “inadequate substitutes of the sacred that can…rush in to fill this spiritual void” (2007, p. 140). Food can become a false god, probably for some of us a lot of the time and for a lot of us some of the time. Of course, we have to eat; hunger and the need for food are inherent to life and bring us great
enjoyment. Still, it's good to remind ourselves of Jesus’ words that the point of life lies elsewhere.
JOURNAL:
When are the times you are tempted to use eating and drinking to fill a spiritual void in your life?
By Dr. Kenny Boyd
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