Editor’s note: “Matters of faith” is a column that provides local religious leaders a place to write about how their respective faiths provide hope, courage and strength in these modern times.
I think it is safe to say food fads come and go. Eating “organic” for example, is said to be much better for you. But since there is not a lot of food labeled “inorganic,” it has not been much of a concern for me.
There is a lot of interest now in being gluten free, but having eaten more than my share of the white mint-flavored paste in grade school, I assume I have a pretty high tolerance for gluten anyway.
I have watched enough of episodes of “My 600 Pound Life” and “The Biggest Loser” to know there is one thing you need to avoid at all cost: eating your problems. I have no idea what the caloric value of a problem is, but it must be huge given the resulting weight gain.
With the possible exception of Sumo wrestlers, I doubt anyone would assume I am underweight. As a result, my perspective then is to agree with Paul in saying, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect.”
The reality is I am at least sporadically a determined warrior on the front line of the battle of the bulge. The word “problem” has a number of definitions, but perhaps the most relevant to this discussion is the noun: any question or matter involving doubt uncertainly or difficulty.
I think it is safe to say doubt, uncertainty or difficulty covers a significant part of life whether we are trying to come to terms with the past or trying to navigate our future. So while we may not be able to determine the caloric value of problems, we can be assured of a bountiful supply to choose from.
I suppose it is an occupational hazard, but I like to look at words through the lens of the Bible. I found it interesting that the word “problem” is never translated in the New International Version or the King James Version. Without giving more information than could be of benefit, “problems” is translated three times in the NIV but apparently no one was eating them.
That is not to say people historically did not have problems; in fact, I think it is safe to say even the superstars of scripture had a more than a few difficulties. For example: the giant killer named David had any number of struggles; like most of us some were self-inflicted while others seemed to be the result of things out of his control.
And while the word “problem” does not appear to be translated, the idea of concerns and worries can be found in another older word “fret.” This was the word David used three times in the 37th psalm, which begins “Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong” (NIV).
The general idea was also a subject that Jesus took time to address in what has been called the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew devotes several verses to the idea we should not worry, the KJV uses “take no thought” a key component in problems, about stuff like our clothes or even about our next meal.
There has been some interest in what has been called the Daniel diet: fruits, vegetables healthy stuff like that. But when it comes to eating my problems, I like this advice from Matthew 6:34: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (NIV).
I think we could add our yesterdays to that as well.
Upton is pastor at Tooele’s First Assembly of God.