Food is a very important part of our existence as human beings. Even before God created man, He had created the things that Adam and Eve would eat. From this we see that eating food is not ungodly. In fact, as part of God’s instructions to Adam, He told him what was available for him to eat. Genesis 2:16 says:
“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:”
Nevertheless, man’s existence does not depend solely on food. Adam and Eve failed to realise this when the tempter came to dangle the forbidden fruit before them and they fell headlong for it. No wonder the Lord took the Israelites through the rigours of the wilderness for forty years, to teach them that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of His mouth. This lesson is so critical that even the first test Jesus faced in the wilderness of temptation was based on it (Matthew 4:1-4). All this happened so we can learn from it.

Amazingly, although food may appear basic and ordinary, it can lead to man’s downfall. A good example of this is Esau, who sold his birthright for a plate of pottage (Genesis 25-29-34). We must therefore open our ears to learn from the Holy Spirit when He speaks to us on food. In Deuteronomy 8:3, He says man shall not live by bread alone. In other words, bread is part of the things that man needs to live, but this bread must come by a process that follows the pattern of God’s word and meets its standards. This is why Jesus Christ refused to turn stone into bread when the devil asked him to (Luke 4:3-4). He showed us that food is good but it must follow the dictates of God’s word and not be influenced by the devil’s suggestions. Thank God that the Second Adam overcame the mistakes of the first Adam.

Many Christians have shipwrecked their faith because of food and drink, failing to heed the Lord’s warning in Matthew 6:25, which says:
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”
Of course, the answer to the Lord’s question is obvious: life is more than meat. This is why it is foolishness to eat the food of death, since the essence of food is to keep us alive in the first place. We must not live by bread alone. In all we do, we must continually look out for the perfect will of God and avoid anything that will send us to hell. May the Lord grant you understanding of this in Jesus’ Name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.