We can’t escape it. No matter what we try to do, we can’t help but think about it every day. It’s on commercials, billboards, and buildings; it occupies our thoughts, cravings, and daily routine. We need it to survive. I am, of course, talking about food. Food can be a polarizing issue. We’re constantly receiving messages about how we eat too much, too little, too much sugar, too much saturated fat, too many calories, too few Omega-3s—it’s safe to say most of us have obsessed over food in one way or another. At the same time, we don’t often stop to think about our eating from a Christian worldview or consider what Scripture has to say about it. Tackling this practical yet often divisive topic, Rachel Marie Stone gives us Eat with Joy: Redeeming God’s Gift of Food—in which she discusses joyful eating, generous eating, communal eating, restorative eating, sustainable eating, creative eating, and redemptive eating.
So how can we eat with joy? Stone, regular contributor to Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics blog, writes, “[By] purchasing and preparing fresh foods from the best possible sources available to you, you can allow the food that graces your plate and nourishes your body to speak more clearly of the sustaining hand of God” (162). Though this statement seems to exclude the occasional jaunt to your local fast food establishment, Stone admits an occasional meal with friends at McDonald’s is acceptable for the sake of love.
Let us first consider the strengths of Stone’s work.
First, Stone shows that eating is part of our spiritual lives. We often view food as something mundane we do every day without considering its relation to our Christian lives. But since eating is a gift from God, we should seek to eat in a way that pleases him. Second, Stone offers practical application from biblical texts. She’s at her best when applying Old Testament justice laws to our eating habits. Such laws can prove difficult for Christians to apply since we aren’t actively oppressing anyone. Stone highlights ways we can promote injustice, however, in the foods we eat and the restaurants we visit. Third, her chapter on communal eating is particularly insightful. She explores why Christians are content to serve food to the poor at soup kitchens but not to eat with them. Stone also develops a rich picture of what it means to commune with others over a meal.
Why Do We Eat?
There are some areas lacking in the book, however. First, Stone’s method of argument is concerning. Her starting point seems to be her experience, supported by stories and sociocultural observations and then supplemented by a few scriptural texts. Overall, the book is heavy on anecdotes and light on biblical content. There’s little sustained interaction with the biblical text, making it seem like Scripture serves as a mere proof-text for many of the stories she recounts.
Stone’s book would have benefited immensely if she’d answered the question she asks: Why did God make creatures that must eat? An in-depth study of Scripture indicates that food reveals to us God’s provision for our daily need, our need for humility since we recognize we depend on him (Deut. 8:3), and the importance of trusting him. Food points to something greater than itself. Indeed, the fact we depend for life on something outside ourselves should direct our gaze to the Lord who sustains life. Ultimately, then, food points us to God and his character. Stone focuses on food as a good gift (which is worthy of reflection), but doesn’t spend as much time on the Giver. An understanding of the purpose of food in pointing to God, however, would have laid a proper foundation both for receiving food as a good gift and also for the many ways we tend to distort this gift—resulting in a more robust discussion of the idolatry of food.
Even though most people aren’t on the extremes of eating disorders or obesity, we all struggle in one way or another with food-related idolatry. While Stone acknowledges that nutritional concerns can be idols, this mention doesn’t occur until near the end of the book. She specifically refers to counting calories or judging others for unhealthy eating as problems but doesn’t address the other side of the issue in overeating, over-indulgence, or lack of concern about nutrition. Idolatry related to food assumes many different forms that aren’t always apparent. Some people are overly concerned with counting calories; others are consistently anxious eaters; still others lack awareness of what they consume. In the end, when we have a proper perspective on food we eat to God’s glory (1 Cor. 10:31)—the source of true joy.
Eat with Joy: Redeeming God’s Gift of Food
Rachel Marie Stone
Our relationship with food is complicated to say the least. But God intended for us to delight in our food. Rachel Stone calls us to rediscover joyful eating by receiving food as God’s good gift of provision and care for us. She shows us how God intends for us to relate to him and each other through food, and how our meals can become expressions of generosity, community and love of neighbor.
Additionally, Stone could benefit from balance. She doesn’t mention the place of moderation in eating. In her attempt to focus on enjoying food, she neglects dealing with deeper concepts like fasting and feasting and stewardship of our bodies. It appears at points that Stone advances an agenda based on her experience rather than recognizing the diversity of struggles people encounter in relation to food.
In the end, I see both benefits and cautions in Eat with Joy. I’m pleased Stone brings to the fore the topic of food as one we should seek to address from a biblical worldview. Her book is a helpful starting point in the crucial discussion of a theology of food. Nevertheless, I wish she would have more deeply engaged the biblical text, more carefully focused on how food points us to God, and demonstrated more balance in her approach to the idolatry of food. Most of all, I wish she would have celebrated the most important aspect of joyful eating—fellowship with God.
