Interesting how the first sin that cursed our whole universe involved food. The account is recorded in Genesis 3. Satan, in the form of a serpent, convinced Eve that eating the forbidden fruit would open her eyes to discern good and evil.

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”

Genesis 3:6, Emphasis added

The original sin was not that Adam and Eve ate a fruit. But the fruit encouraged the temptation to be like God by looking so scrumptious. I imagine the fruit was vibrant with color, juicy with a smooth but satisfying texture. Our modern-day equivalent might be a dark chocolate lava cake with melted ice cream and fudge cascading down onto a strawberry syrup-lined plate… Yeah, that might tempt me.

Our senses can deceive us. They can weaken our will to follow God’s commands by making us focus on things on the flesh, how we can gratify our desires here and now. Food is good and we need it to live. But it is also a carnal and temporary necessity that shouldn’t have too big of a place in our life. Philippians 3:19 talks about the enemies of the cross and how “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” We are not to walk in this way. Our minds are to be set on the goal, on the upward call of Christ (Philippians 3:14). Where does food fit into this picture? It fits on the back burner. Our focus can’t be food or pleasing our senses or attaining wisdom or anything other than Jesus. When yummy-looking food comes up and threatens to make us focus on earthly things, how do we say “No”?

Self-control: The Not Forbidden Fruit

We know that we shouldn’t eat donuts every day. We know that our Cokes do us no favors. So why do we consume them? There are a lot of physical, chemical factors that play a role but we won’t get into that right now. The important thing to remember is that we have dominion over our flesh and can say no to unhealthy foods, even in the midst of our most intense cravings. 1 Peter 1:13-14 charges us to gird up our minds, be sober, not conforming to our former lusts. We do this with every other area of sin in our lives; why would we not do this with food? If we were born an angry, wrathful person, don’t we, as followers of Christ, war against our urge to lash out and ask the Holy Spirit to keep us gentle? If the Holy Spirit can keep us self-controlled against anger and lust and other sins, can’t He help us say no to too many M&Ms? It rightfully seems comical when we put it in that light. Of course He can. The question is, do you care enough about your health to ask Him for help?

Let’s ask this question: does God want you to take care of your body? The answer, of course, is yes. If we say no, we would be saying, “God doesn’t want you to take care of your body.” That’s ludicrous. He gave you your health--why wouldn’t He want you to maintain it? Because God cares about your health, He will help you fight your senses that so often want unhealthy things for our bodies.

The first sin, again, wasn’t that Eve ate something that looked yummy. It shows us that food and things that are pleasing to the senses can weaken our resolve in the midst of temptation. Food was created to be a pleasurable gift from God, but sin turned it into something that we sometimes want more than holiness, making our “god our bellies”. Thanks be to God He has given us the Holy Spirit to war with our flesh and our senses. With the Holy Spirit, we have the power to say no. Don’t let your senses have power over you. Keep food on the back burner. Keep your eyes on Christ. You won’t be missing out on anything by doing so--in His right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11)!

May God bless you and send His Holy Spirit on you to make you resilient against the whims of our senses!

Priscilla Matus