Mark 7: Eat What You Want

Interesting fact from Jesus in Mark 7: Eat what you want.

That’s right! Organic or non-organic. Waffle fries, meat of all kinds, and even chocolate.

Details from verses 18-19 include: “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

Our socially conscious culture tends to make one kind of food better than another, but Jesus’ food ethics move beyond these rules. Food is not the problem. Sin is. So eat what you want, with two small exceptions.

First, remember that gluttony (overeating) is a sin. Yes, it is listed in the New Testament with all of the other big issues we are to avoid as followers of Christ.

Second, fair-trade certified and locally grown food actually do matter. Fair trade certified foods are important because they help provide accountability against slave labor in our food products. Locally-grown food is likewise important as it causes less impact upon the environment and can help support local community farmers and businesses.

So eat whatever you want, but not too much, fair trade and locally grown when possible, love God and love your neighbor. (New Dillon Translation 🙂

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Dillon Burroughs has written, co-written, or edited over 60 books, including the upcoming devotional work Thirst No More (October 2011). He served as an associate editor for The Apologetics Study Bible for Students and is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. Find out more at DillonBurroughs.org.