Pastor's Message

Spiritual Junk Food

“Kids Will Live Shorter Lives Than Parents.” This was the title of a front page article in the Kelowna Daily Courier for Wednesday March 28th.  The article opens with this statement, “A shocking epidemic of childhood obesity is creating the first generation of Canadians that will live shorter lives than their parents.” According to a report issued by the House of Commons Committee on health in Canada, in 1978 15% of Canadian children between the ages of 2-17 years were either overweight or obese. In 2004 the percentage of over-weight or obese 2-17 year olds mushroomed to 26%.  Aboriginal Canadians fared even worse; with 55% of aboriginal children living on reserves and 41% of aboriginal children living off reserve being overweight or obese. Conservative MP Rob Merrifield, Chairman of the Commons health committee called the situation of childhood obesity in Canada an epidemic.  Canada ranks fifth in a survey of 35 developed nations for obesity among our children.

The report entitled, “Healthy Weight for Healthy Kids” contends that obese and overweight children tend become obese and overweight adults. Overweight and obese adults are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke risk, joint problems and mental health issues at an alarmingly early age. Early onset diabetes, heart conditions and joint problems will have a devastating impact on our already overtaxed healthcare system. The report noted that these early onset diseases can in most all cases be prevented.

The report blamed the childhood obesity epidemic on the following.

Bad diet. Specifically, the children ate too much fast food and processed foods that are rich in trans-fats. Too many Big Macs, Fries, potato chips, greasy Little Caesars cheese pizzas, and yes, even Tim Horton’s donuts (Yes, I admit having overindulged in this area). Children also eat literally hundreds of tons of candy every year. These foods are all high calorie foods with very little nutritional value.

Larger portions. In an effort to attract buyers, portion size has steadily increased in fast food restaurant meals and in junk foods over the years. This has had the effect of increasing consumption of fast foods and other junk foods. 

Sugary drinks. Children are drinking more and more sugary drinks. Not only Coke, Pepsi and other soda pops, but also sports drinks, like Gatorade, sugar laden fruit punches, and similar drinks. Deni informed me that an average 250 ml can of Coke has ten teaspoons of sugar in it. The report noted that sugary drinks could account for as much as one pound per month weight gain for teens.

Lack of Exercise. The report found that children are sitting in front of the television more, playing more video games and exercising much less. If one exercises less, the excess calories end up in weight gain rather than energy burned.       

Advertising. The report found a correlation between advertising which targets children and young teens  and increased consumption of high calorie and low nutrition food.  

What to do about the Epidemic. 
 
Possible Future Government Bans. The report fell short of urging Ottawa to place a ban advertising junk food to Canadian Children. The report also fell short of calling for a ban on trans-fats in food marketed to children. However, the report clearly believes that our food supply would be better if we used less trans-fats and sugar in our food.

Putting Pressure on the Fast/Junk Food Industry to Self-regulate. The Report called on government to continue to encourage and pressure the fast food junk food industry to limit advertising targeted at children.

Ultimate Responsibility Rests with Family. The government can only do so much with bans on advertising or calling on industry to be good stewards for the health of our children. The responsibility lies with families to cultivate better habits for their children. It is families who have the influence over their children. It is not just about banning or not eating the bad foods, it is about eating the good food and replacing the bad food with the good food.

Has more to do with attitude than with prohibition. We have cultivated a very negative attitude when it comes to facing and combating the challenges we meet as individuals and as a society. Whenever something goes wrong we want to place the blame on someone other than ourselves and we want to impose a ban on the offending cause. Our children are obese. We find a link between obesity and the consumption of trans-fats. If we want to stop obesity in children, we simply ban trans-fats in the food supply. This course of action is a win-win situation. We believe that we are doing something very positive. We have legislated against a very dangerous product in our food supply; thereby making it safe. However, we have done nothing about the root of the problem. The food rich in trans-fats will still be out there somewhere and the unscrupulous parent or friend of the child will get the food to the child.  The blame game is as old as humanity. It was practiced by Adam and Eve. Adam blamed his disobedience on the woman God gave him. If  this woman wasn’t in my life I wouldn’t have eaten the forbidden fruit.  Eve blamed her disobedience on the serpent that God created. If  this serpent wasn’t in my life I wouldn’t have eaten the forbidden fruit. (Read Genesis 3). The problem was not the woman and serpent, it was the temptation to eat something that wasn’t good food for Adam and Eve to eat. We have the same  temptation; namely, to eat food that isn’t good food for us.

There is a correlation between junk food and the forbidden fruit. Both have no nutritional value and lead to death. Both cause disease and suffering. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God, summed up our predicament in the following verses from Chapter 55.

 1 "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money,
 come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?      Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
 3 Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.  I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.  4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor." 6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

God linked physical food with the life of faith. God was speaking to his chosen people living in exile. God saw that his people were spending their time and effort on things that were not feeding them spiritually. They were preoccupied with life in Babylon, settling down to a life there, getting along with the people in the culture they found themselves. God called his people to look at what it was they were eating and spending their time on. God was asking them to look at what they were doing in light of eternity. God asked them to examine the nature of their covenant with Babylonian culture? He asked them to consider these questions: Can the food that Babylon give you sustain you in your sickbed? Can the covenant you make with Babylon go beyond this life? Can the covenant with Babylon give life to your mortal soul? God’s answer was clear. The food they got from Babylon had many calories; but it had no nutritional value. It made them overweight and sick. It was sugary and fatty and made them feel good; but it also made them forget about God.  God promised that if his people turned to him they would receive heavenly food. 
 
10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it   without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:   It will not return to me empty,     but will accomplish what I desire   and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11

God promised his people liberation from Babylon and a return to the Holy Land. He promised to call them back and to restore them to their rightful place in Judah and Jerusalem.  God likened his word to physical snow and rain, which causes the earth to bud and grow and produce food, which satisfies the farmer and leaves some to spare for a new crop. God promised that their return was as sure as the crop, which comes after snow and rain irrigate the land.  Soon after Isaiah spoke, King Cyrus of Persia took the Babylonian empire in a bloodless revolt. Cyrus issued a decree, which led to the return of about 50,000 captive Israelites to Jerusalem. The Temple was rebuilt and the city restored and the people waited for the Messiah to come.

Some five centuries later, a young rabbi appeared with twelve disciples who spoke of himself in this way.

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. [John 6:35]

But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. [John 6:50]

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."[John 6:51]
             
Jesus offers himself as food for us to eat.  We eat the bread come down from heaven when we hear, study, take to heart and live out the Gospel message by what we say and what we do. It is in this process of hearing, studying reflecting and doing that we experience a feeding, the real presence of Christ in the core of our very being. This feeding sustains us in our journey in this life and gives us the strength we need to cross over from this life to the life to come. 

There is plenty of spiritual junk food out there. A litany of the standard suspects comes to mind almost immediately, including: the search for wealth, career advancement, the search for fame and recreational pursuits. However, we have to be careful in this regard. God gave us this world and all its resources, together with human intelligence, ingenuity, skills and gifts to use. In the Ten Commandments God told his people to work hard for six days; but leave one day for me and feeding on my Word. In New Testament terms, God says give me at least one day a week when you feed on the Word and receive the Sacraments.  God promises that this feeding will give us the proper perspective for wealth, work and recreation. It is when we do not take time for God that the work, which God gave us, becomes junk food and makes us spiritually overweight and sick.

There are other spiritual foods that are far more deceptive than the pursuit of fame, fortune and fun. Secular humanism is a threat. It challenges our faith with science and logic. Religion, they will say, was useful for a period of time in human history. Faith provided explanations for situations we could not understand and gave comfort to those who were facing what appeared to be insurmountable circumstances. However, times have changed; we now understand how the universe works. We have been to space and God was not there. There is no God. Come and feed at our trough, of science, logic and philosophy. How does one respond to this?

We should by no means demonize science, logic or philosophy. Scientists have and continue to make our lives better. However, as Christians we should display a certain attitude about science.  Science for the most part simply uncovers, describes and manipulates what already exists in our world.  The wonder, diversity and interconnectedness of our world is testimony that this world is the product of intelligent design by a higher power. Science has not yet created life from nothing. Science cannot prove how life began and what happens after death. Science can prolong life and take life, but it cannot stop death or tell us what lies beyond. If we are honest, understanding of the mechanics of the world still leaves one with questions about the meaning of life, death and the transcendent. When we face our mortality; when we try to apply scientific advances to everyday life, we find that science leaves us fat and bloated. We should encourage scientists to try the Gospel with an open mind and with humility and see what happens.

A threat exists even within the church, which began centuries ago in the period of history called the “enlightenment.” Intellectuals and theologians within the church began to question the basic truths set forth in the Holy Scriptures. The divinity of Jesus was questioned; as was the virgin birth. Biblical texts were compared with human historical records and archeological data. Contradictions between the Bible and historical documents and archeological evidence were resolved in favor of human history and archeology.  A movie has or will soon be released which claims to have found the bones of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Holy Family. There are many ears that are itching to hear any information, which discredits our faith in Jesus and his resurrection. It is wonderful and interesting reading; but it is junk food and leads to spiritual illness.

There are those within the church that challenge the traditional and historic interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. They seek to make the Bible a book that was written for its historical period. If you believe that, then we must reinterpret the text to fit today’s context. The Scriptures, they will say, were written by people who did not know the world was round, did not know about trains, planes and automobiles, computers and cell phones. We know more than they did; therefore, we must adapt to the world that we live in. We must come out of the dark ages and into the light of reason. All of this is very interesting, but in the end it is spiritual junk food. This knowledge puffs one up. It bloats our ego.

God asks us to come to him with a certain attitude.  He asks us to admit that this world is a complex place, which we cannot understand or fathom. We must admit that when we look at the world around us we feel that while things seem to change so much, and we have made such advances, there is still hunger, and depravity, greed, evil and murder. It seem these things go on unabated. We must admit when we look at our own lives we see that, while we intend to do good and live worthy lives we fail miserably most of the time.  God asks us to come to him with humble, contrite and broken heart. It is on this ground that the words that come from God’s mouth will fall, and they will cause this ground to bring forth life abundantly. God wants you to have a steady diet of His highly nutritional bread from heaven the Lord Jesus; to exercise your mind by thinking about and studying the Gospel and your body living by living out the Gospel in our daily lives.  

It is my prayer that during Holy Week and the season of Easter, God’s Word will be like April showers falling on our hearts, minds and souls that will cause our faith to bloom like May flowers.

In Christ,
Pastor Ed  
PS: Stay away from the spiritual junk food.

© Grace Lutheran Church Kelowna 2006
Grace Lutheran Church is a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada