The Foodie in Me

I don’t know if I have just lived in Santa Cruz too long or if it was the fact that Margaret Feinberg was the author, but I found myself drawn to her new book, The Organic God. So, I suggested that my dad and I read it for our next reading assignment (we work through books together). I was to read the first two chapters by the following week. (Today) Never having been one to follow the guidelines or have patience, I finished the entire book in two sittings and less than four hours. Needless to say I would recommend the book, to anyone who is looking for a more organic understanding and relationship with God.

Feinberg is quick to defend the title of the book explaining that while organic is most often associated with food that is grown naturally it is also a lifestyle, as we in Santa Cruz County are well aware of; a simple, natural and healthy way of approaching life. It is out of her desire to know God without any additives of culture, tradition and society and her desire for an organic relationship with God that she writes.

As I have with her other writings I found myself in her stories and examples. I joined in her longing for a deep spiritual hunger. My own thoughts mingled with hers and my fathers as we discussed the concepts of an Organic God.

A bit of a Foodie myself the idea of organic versus non-organic painted a picture for me that I hope you will be able to see. We live in what has been described as a “Fast Food Nation” where we have forgone taste and nutrition for a quick fix on the go. Many have studied the effects on our systems. What hasn’t been studied to my knowledge is the effect of a Spiritual Fast Food diet, on our health.

Millions of Americans come to church throughout the week to get their quick fix nourishment. A half hour sermon or lesson that relieves the hunger pangs. There is nothing wrong with this meal on the go, prepared for the masses, however just like fast food these tidy tid-bits offer very little lasting nutritional value. If this is all the average American Christian is feeding themselves with the long term spiritual health of our nation is in danger.

We can take a lesson from the Slow Food Movement; “Slow Food USA envisions a future
food system that is based on the principles of high quality and taste, environmental sustainability, and social justice – in essence, a food system that is good, clean and fair.” Is this not what we should aim for when feeding not only our physical selves but our spiritual as well? If we want long term spiritual health then we must take time to feed our selves. Reading God’s word, seeking out His nature and listening for His voice, are a few of the ongoing things to feast on. Just like food the more time you spend and the less things you add to or take away from the food, the better the nutritional value and the more enjoyable a meal becomes.

Once you have begun to enjoy fine dining wheather at home, or prepared by a master chef the harder it is to be satisfied with the quick fixes, you begin to hunger for the best. You might stop in now and then and enjoy the comfort food of your youth, but you know it can be so much more. So I invite you to eat well, to savor the many flavors this world has to offer both physically and spiritually. Taste of all that God has to offer and enjoy.