I remember an incident at the family dinner table when I was ten or so. My younger brother was gulping down his food, most likely so he could rejoin his playmates outside, in a game that dinner rudely had interrupted.
Dad looked at him and said, “You’re eating as if someone’s trying to take away your food.” When we all laughed, my brother heard the message and slowed down, at least for that meal.
That was a not-so-subtle reminder that food is not merely fuel for the body, but meal time is food for the soul as well, when we are eating with those we love.
But even eating alone, it’s possible to savor what we eat and enjoy the meal immensely, because our gracious God has given us taste buds and a sense of smell. When we mindlessly swallow our food whole, it’s an indicator that something is out of whack. We should ask ourselves when and how our capacity really to enjoy a meal and linger over its tastes and textures left us.
But there is an even more important lesson here than achieving good digestion, and that is seen in how often the Bible connects the joy and fullness of food with the satisfaction God and His words provide.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8
“He who comes to me will never go hungry.” John 6:35
“Why spend your 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.” Isaiah 55:3
“You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
letting them drink from the river of your delights.” Psalm 36:8
There are more, but you get the idea. Just as we can gulp our food rather than savor it, so also we can do the same with God’s Word, and indeed, God Himself.
On the other hand, we can take time to delight in God and His provision of grace in Christ just as we would savor our favorite meal.
Providing we don’t rush. Besides, what is it we’re hurrying to that is more important than Him?
“You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.”
Psalm 63:5