By: Laura Bennett
At its most basic, our consumption of food is about nourishing our bodies and keeping them alive.
We all know though the way we eat – and what we eat – can become far more complicated when they’re affected by unhealthy beliefs about food, our bodies and social expectations.
Bible teacher and speaker Erin Davis is a self-confessed foodie, but also a woman whose relationship to food carries the baggage of a grandmother who ingested a tapeworm to diet, and inherited guilt about being able to control her appetite.
Realising how unhealthy her approach to food had become, Erin began to wonder what the Bible said about food. She came across the principles of feasting and fasting and noticed there could be something sacred about the way we consume food.
“A healthy understanding of food is [about] balance,” Erin said in an interview.
“Part of what studying food in scripture did for me was give me a sense of wonder for food.
“God’s given us such abundant [variety] and then built inside of us the need for food, so every day we need something we don’t have inside of ourselves.
“Part of a healthy approach to food for me, is just to be grateful.”
Erin complied the insights of her study into Fasting and Feasting: 40 Devotionals to Satisfy the Hungry Heart, a series that considers food’s effect on our joy, how it can spark wonder and what food teaches us about God.
“Part of a healthy approach to food for me, is just to be grateful.”
“God doesn’t just say, ‘Fast, fast, fast’,” Erin said.
“Feasting is also there.
“In scripture there’s this counterbalance of embracing, and loving food and thanking God for it, and, surrendering all of our lives to Jesus – including what we eat and don’t eat.”
Erin Davis’ book Fasting and Feasting: 40 Devotionals to Satisfy the Hungry Heart is out now.
Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.
Feature image: Photo by Kelsey Chance on Unsplash
About the Author: Laura Bennett is a media professional, broadcaster and writer from Sydney, Australia.