Junk Food

Junk food. What is the appeal?

Okay, so it is fast, easy and tasty. Chips have that wonderful crispiness and crunch. Candy can be sweet, or sweet and sour, or my favorite- sweet and salty. It is mostly cheap and accessible. I can get it at the grocery store, the gas station, even my local video store. It usually has colorful fun packaging. If you watch kid oriented TV stations, there are lots of commercials for it. I can list dozens off the top of my head: snickers, lays, Doritos, pretzels, combos, bugles, Tostitos, Hersheys, skittles, dove, m & ms, gummies, reeses, and little Debbie’s. That is just a small sampling and doesn’t even include some of the food masquerading as real that is still not good for you.

But, we know it’s junk- right? We know that the chemical additives, artificial colors, trans fat, and sugar are bad for us. We tend to have a mindset that it tastes better than food that is good for us. However, if we really think about it, most of us that have had times in our life to have freshly grown food prepared by skilled hands, we know that junk food is really not better: easier- maybe, better- no.

Have you ever had a fresh strawberry straight from the patch when it is perfectly ripe? For that matter, a blueberry from the bush or peach right from the tree? I’m particularly fond of homegrown fresh tomatoes (and have NEVER bought one in a store that would compare). Oh, and when it is corn season my Dad grows the best sweet white corn that can be found. Getting hungry yet?

I am a practical girl and know that my own food triangle is far from perfect. I eat more than I should of the junk variety, and don’t think that it is necessary to eliminate all junk food. We have a pretty amazing and forgiving body when we attempt to give it what we need, but we get to make the choices. We do find it operates better when we give it what it needs. Does it make you wonder why we find ourselves eating substances that don’t feed us, things that don’t nourish us?

I heard a quote recently in regard to faith. “Faith is never a question of the intellect- it is always a question of the will.” I like to think of myself as a smart person, but often my choices are not choices of intellect but simply of will. The junk food is but one small example of that. And that one is a fairly easy one. If I can’t pronounce the ingredients and it has more sugar and fat than any combination of fiber, protein and carbohydrates, I should probably stay away from it. Not that I always will.

In my faith there are also an enormous amount of substitutes for real nourishment. Some are obvious and some are rather subtle. My faith junk food is pretty cheap and accessible as well. It can be too much focus on work or just the opposite - watching TV and avoiding what needs to be done. There are amazing and infinite ways to fill my time and mental energy. It is often easier to go through an entire day without thinking of God than to force myself to return my focus to His will (more veggies please). It can show up subtly by only talking when I pray and forgetting to listen.

The basics for my food pyramid would probably be prayer, studying God’s word, trusting God and obeying. I think there are other levels that we need slightly less of but that are still important; relationships with other believers, developing and sharing our story of how God works in our lives. These are ‘better’ options but not necessarily easier. They are not cleverly packaged, exciting or tempting. But when we actually do them, we know they are so much sweeter than the junk. When we are able to discipline ourselves and pray, fast, study, we can feel the difference. We have a pretty amazing and forgiving father that attempts to give us what we need, but we still have to make the choices.

Father, help us to focus more on you. Help us to make choices that are pleasing to you because those same choices will lead us to a better place. Thank you for our free will although at times when I am lazy I wish there was only good choices. Thank you that you are loving and merciful even when we choose wrong. Help me love you more.