In "The Screwtape Letters," Chapter or Letter #17, C.S. Lewis categorizes picky eating as "gluttony of delicacy" (as opposed to gluttony of excess). It keeps the offender in a delusion of "self righteousness" regarding food, and causes a great deal of inconvenience in others. I used to be such an offender. The worst of its kind. AND I was also sinning in gluttony of excess. Now I am more careful and is asking God to impart me the strength and true righteousness that can only come from Him through Jesus. Amen.

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I just read the article as I was posting on facebook about food.. ;-) I totally Agree, and totally disagree. Food IS an amazing part of social world and eating together and fellowship. All God's gifts are so beautiful! It is so clear that food is a gift, especially when you are staring at the fresh garden of colors on a big salad while waiting on a big steak grilling on the grill, and you can just smell the goodness. What an awesome gift of God that we can sit around a table full of his bounty in the fellowship of friends and believers. Yes if the focus on food becomes a personal ultimate it is an idol and needs to be repented of. Seriously, if it is a healthy concern for the greater good for health and for the children of tomorrow, the Land and for the animals, I think we have a responsibility as Children of God to do something about this horrendous tragedy in our food industry. I think it needs to be the responsibly of the CHurch for us to say, NO MORE!!! instead of us just staying comfortable in the luxuries of turning the other cheek just to have cheap food. I am talking about A fully joint effort, then we could all sit together and eat with no problems. Food is an addiction, and turning a blind eye to what is going on in the food industry just to savor all the foods that are cheap and convenient, can be just as much an idol and harmful. I believe Christians should see this issues as passionately as they see and fight for no more sex slavery, no more child abuse or abusive marriages, etc, and the way we give homes to orphans. According to Genesis, the Lord gave us the responsibility to take care of the earth and the animals. I think God's people have a responsibility to love justice, to fight for the people/farmers who are upholding the standards of care and concern for the people and the food. Horrific Food allergies are becoming very commonplace, and have been created by the Genetically Modified Foods which were created solely for the greed of the companies making them!! Not for the good of anyone else. This needs to be stopped. Not in a legalistic way, but in the name of justice we need to fight for what is right and for the health of our children. Food is destroying health of people in America. It does Matter!!! Honestly, Christians should be HORRIFIED when they see what the industries are doing to the Animals, plants and Farmers and now what it is doing to the Health and well being of People. :( I hope this sounds passionately loving and not legalistic.

I just read the article as I was posting on facebook about food.. ;-) I totally Agree, and totally disagree. Food IS an amazing part of social world and eating together and fellowship. All God's gifts are so beautiful! It is so clear that food is a gift, especially when you are staring at the fresh garden of colors on a big salad while waiting on a big steak grilling on the grill, and you can just smell the goodness. What an awesome gift of God that we can sit around a table full of his bounty in the fellowship of friends and believers. Yes if the focus on food becomes a personal ultimate it is an idol and needs to be repented of. Seriously, if it is a healthy concern for the greater good for health and for the children of tomorrow, the Land and for the animals, I think we have a responsibility as Children of God to do something about this horrendous tragedy in our food industry. I think it needs to be the responsibly of the CHurch for us to say, NO MORE!!! instead of us just staying comfortable in the luxuries of turning the other cheek just to have cheap food. I am talking about A fully joint effort, then we could all sit together and eat with no problems. Food is an addiction, and turning a blind eye to what is going on in the food industry just to savor all the foods that are cheap and convenient, can be just as much an idol and harmful. I believe Christians should see this issues as passionately as they see and fight for no more sex slavery, no more child abuse or abusive marriages, etc, and the way we give homes to orphans. According to Genesis, the Lord gave us the responsibility to take care of the earth and the animals. I think God's people have a responsibility to love justice, to fight for the people/farmers who are upholding the standards of care and concern for the people and the food. Horrific Food allergies are becoming very commonplace, and have been created by the Genetically Modified Foods which were created solely for the greed of the companies making them!! Not for the good of anyone else. This needs to be stopped. Not in a legalistic way, but in the name of justice we need to fight for what is right and for the health of our children. Food is destroying health of people in America. It does Matter!!! Honestly, Christians should be HORRIFIED when they see what the industries are doing to the Animals, plants and Farmers and now what it is doing to the Health and well being of People. :( I hope this sounds passionately loving and not legalistic.

Some good, balanced thinking. A wise counselor-friend calls this "disordered eating."

I am a dietary pharisee. I am leaner and I'm miserable.

No doubt food consumption can become an idol, either through gluttony or scarcity, much the same way money can as well. Lots of people who love money don't have much of it and idolize it every bit as much as those who are wealthy, and the same can be true with food. That being said, it is entirely possible (and I'd say imperative) to make moral and theological judgments relating to food. The world was formed according to certain ordained norms, and much of our current agricultural and food production violates said norms. Such violations have profound consequences that our culture, not to mention the Church, has chosen to ignore. Virtually all the warnings in the prophetic literature of the Old Testament are tied to the land...and thus to food. It's not enough to say "Peace, peace" while the land we've been charged to steward is polluted and destroyed in order that we can have whatever food we want, whenever we want it. Sadly, the Church's voice seems to be, at best, lacking in intelligent engagement with this issue, or, at worst, entirely misapplying the Cultural Mandate from Genesis to justify greed and extortion. Some (most) of our food is produced (which is such and interesting choice of words to describe food! "produce", as if we can fabricate it like cars, Ipads, clothing, etc.) using methods which damage and destroy the earth, and by buying and consuming it, we (I include myself) endorse that process. That is morally, ethically, and theologically wrong. The challenge, of course, is "So what? What are we supposed to do about that?" I'm still trying to figure out an answer. But, regardless, the focus needs to shift from "What's right for humans?" (which we've attempted and failed to answer with dieting, disordered eating, gluttony, organic-food-nazis, etc.) to the much broader question, "What's right?" Food, rightly understood, is an incredible blessing for which we should give great thanks...most often with other people in the midst of great celebration! Love of the Creator should never be replaced by love of the Creation, a trap into which many crunchy, organic, Chaco-wearing foodies fall. Yet, love of the Creator means caring well for his Creation, rejoicing in it, and participating in, rather than attempting to manipulate, the ordained norms which govern it.

I don't blog any more, but when I read this I went back and found a post I wrote in '07 that expressed my heartbreak over this issue... http://atgrannyshouse.blogspot.com/2007/10/open-letter-to-my-friend-paula-not-her.html

Thank you for this article. It is very thoughtful and thorough. As a person on the autism spectrum, with a son who is as well, I've been scolded by all kinds of people about foods... which foods will "make him better," which foods *MUST* be avoided, and then scolded about the limited foods my son will eat. I can't make those people happy about my choices, so I've given up and refuse to engage in the discussion. Food did not make us autistic. Food can't "cure" people with autism. We do the best we can to eat healthful food, but going on a restricted diet will only be more stress. We aren't overweight, we are active and don't eat a lot of sugar. That's enough... Every evening when we eat, we thank God for the blessing of plentiful food and healthy choices. We are so very blessed.

ditto, ditto, DITTO