Plethora of food

As I've been doing the Daniel fast I have noticed how much food just really isn't good for us. I LOVE to eat and I have been reflecting on how much I overeat and crave things that are not good for my body. Granted, everyone deserves a treat every once and a while, or at least that's what we tell ourselves, but we should eat it in moderation.

I went to the mall on Saturday (I'm not a mall rat, so it's a big deal that I was there) and I began to realize how "food crazed" our culture is. There is food everywhere. I drove past dozens of food places on the way to mall, not to mention all of the advertisements and billboards. And then once at the mall there are food kiosks, restaurants, and two floors of food court. As if that weren't enough there is a little snack shop as soon as you walk into the door from the parking lot in Target and a chocolate shop after you exit through Target on the other end of the store. I noticed quickly that most of the food offered I cannot eat right now, but albeit from that, there are not truly healthy options. Salad is as good as it gets at most places, and that's if they even offer salad as an option. I started to feel a little bad about being so picky about the food options because there are people around the world who are starving. There are people here in our country who would love to be treated to a nice warm hamburger or piece of pizza. Where's the balance?

I'm not saying that food is sin, but sin is all around us and food can become "sin". We live in a "sin crazed" society. On the drive to the mall I also passed several "sin" places...the corners, the billboards, the shops, etc. and then again sin abounds in the mall in many different manifestations from greed to sexual promiscuity. Sin is all around us. Does my body crave sin, too? Aren't those cravings my fleshly desires?

Just as I need to "train" myself to not eat and/or want bad foods I also need to "train" myself no not want to sin and to not crave fleshly desires. The good thing is that I'm not in this alone.