Five Things Food Can't Do

What Is Food Good For?

Written by Cheryl Petersen, Everyday Spirituality

I will soon be bringing out of the Holy of Holies the Family Christmas Cookie Recipe. After mixing the special ingredients and letting the dough chill for 24 hours, I will cut out then bake and frost the cookies. In the end they will look like typical sugar cookies, but one bite quickly classifies them in their own unique category. They taste divine and they land lightly in the tummy.

In order not to overeat these scrumptious delicacies, I have to remind myself to recall the list of 5 things food can’t do. Years ago, I came up with this list because my head was so jam-packed full of things food can do—such as, provide nutrients to the body, make me sick, make me fat, or make me fart—that I ate with worry and guilt. This worry and guilt not only weighed heavy on my mind but it also contradicted what I read in Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad.” (Eccl. 8:15, NIV) So, instead of repeating what food can do, it occurred to me to make a list of things food can’t do.