Let’s face it—eating and body image can be touchy issues. But at our last event we were blessed to hear from David Kotter that there is a gospel centered way of approaching food, eating, and taking care of our bodies. Mr. Kotter illustrated how the issue of weight gain is one that is deeply impacting many Americans. This topic is one that we need to talk about.

The problem is that the energy we spend has become significantly less than what Americans used to spend—but our intake of energy (calories), i.e. food, has not decreased. So what happens to all that extra energy? It gets stored in our bodies as fat. Part of the problem is that the energy content of food has changed too. For example a baked potato has a couple hundred less calories than French fries. So while you may not be eating too much food, you might be eating a type of food that has huge amounts of energy, but since the activity level of many has not changed, the extra energy gets stored.

What does the gospel have to do with all this you might be asking yourself? Mr. Kotter asserted that the solution to overeating and weight gain is not to try diet after diet. He quickly illustrated the point that all throughout the Bible God deals with food. He cares about food and what we eat. Food is a blessing and gift from God. So what is the problem with overeating? God calls it gluttony and gluttony is sin and it has its root in our hearts. Call gluttony something else and there is no solution. But there is a solution for sin. Christ died to break the power of sin. So, we must recognize gluttony as sin and as an idol. When we look to food to give us satisfaction and joy instead of God we have placed food on the throne of our hearts. Mr. Kotter shared with us the truth that this sin needs to be repented of and our trust placed in Christ, rather than something we eat.

Mr. Kotter also shared with us some practical ideas on how to be good stewards of our bodies and food. Suggestions were to eat more high fiber foods and eat less high fat foods, increase your activity level, and be wise in choosing what foods to eat. He also suggested looking at the recipes you make and see if there are ways to lower the fat content. He cautioned us, though, to not allow exercise become a different idol in our lives.

Overall this was such an encouraging time to think about the gift of food that God has given us and to be spurred on to enjoy His gifts but to not practice idolatry. Being reminded of the gospel’s impact on this area of our lives was especially refreshing. We are grateful to Mr. Kotter for stirring our minds and hearts with this message!