Saying Grace Graciously

I have been thinking about how we “ask a blessing” at mealtime. I learned it as a child: “Bless us O Lord and these thy gifts which we are about to receive through thy bounty in Christ our Lord, Amen.”

In light of all the health problems, even among Christians, maybe we should say something like this:
“Please make this food healthful and nutritious, take out the impurities, restore the vitamins and minerals, remove the carcinogens and replace them with numerous antioxidants, make the calcium/magnesium ratio 2:1, annihilate the bad bacteria and put in some good bacteria. Please replenish the trace elements, make the pH 7.0, provide the electro-chemical energy for the synapses in our brains to snap properly, normalize the glucose, reduce cholesterol, and may it build strong bodies eight different ways. And, oh, yes, may it shrink our hemorrhoids. And please, God, don’t let me eat like a glutton. Amen.”

It would be nice if God would rearrange the atomic particles making them less full of calories and less hazardous to our health. If God would perform a miracle on the food we eat and make it healthier, and if God would miraculously make us close our mouth when we have had enough, wouldn’t that be the right thing to do for His children?

Many of us experience numerous health problems, often caused by years of poor diet. If we could just eat fries and get the nourishment of veggies.

Experience tells me that if I eat a sugary doughnut, it tastes like a sugary doughnut in my mouth, and I strongly suspect that it goes into my digestive tank as a blob of devitalized sugar and flour. Nutritionists tell us that the most nutritious part of a doughnut is the hole. I doubt that God would transform the solid portion into something healthful on the way down. Maybe I’m wrong, but won’t we assimilate pretty much whatever we poke into our mouths? Those Twinkies don’t turn into carrot juice.

In looking in the Bible, I could find only one incident of God cleansing food. It’s in 2 Kings 4:38-41. In this case the chow was so toxic that the diners would have died on the spot if God hadn’t intervened.

OK – since we don’t want to change what we eat or how much we eat, then what should the mealtime blessing consist of?

Scripture cites several occasions when Jesus prayed before eating. Matthew 14:19 uses the Greek word eulogeo, meaning “speak well of.” The King James translation reads, “he blessed” (the food). However, in John 6:11, which recounts the same event, the sense is “thank, be thankful.” The NIV translates both verses as Jesus “gave thanks.” Matthew 15:36 and Mark 8:6 are other examples where Jesus “gave thanks.”

Jesus didn’t ask the Father to purify and cleanse food. He simply expressed thanks to Him. Romans 14:6 speaks of giving God thanks for food, and 1 Timothy 4:3 says to receive food with thanksgiving.

Incidentally, we often use the phrase “saying grace.” The word “grace” comes from the Latin word gratia, meaning “good will” or “free gift”, and implies “thanks”. It’s the origin of the Spanish word gracias or “thank you.”

It seems to me that since we can’t count on God purifying our food or keeping us from eating too much, it is up to us to control the quantity and quality of what we eat. Our part of the equation is self-control using the strength of Jesus Christ living within us and not depending on our own weaknesses.

We live in a society where “Give us this day our daily bread” is just a formality. Let’s remember those millions around the world where food is scarce – for them every meal is something to be grateful for. As recipients of God’s generosity, we can give abundant thanks for the food our Father so graciously provides.

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