Living in the Image of God M05S20
We discuss God’s purpose for food, which includes direct benefits of nourishment of the body and soul to perform functions of living and indirect benefits to others through human interactions. Because the benefits of food can extend to numerous people beyond the person that consumed the food, there are individual responsibilities regarding food consumption and potential blessings by sharing food with others. The responsibilities include appreciation of the human provider and appreciation of God for empowering the human provider and propagating the benefits of food through human interactions. We earn blessings by sharing food because of enabling the recipient to perform their functions of living among a human interactions network.
This bible study begins with understanding that God granted explicit authority for people to draw food from plants and other animals, with limitations against eating live blood or eating your own kind. His purpose for food includes nourishment of the body and soul to support the functions of living. Through human interactions, others benefit from functions of living performed by the consumer and transmit the benefits to others and chains of more others. The study focuses on understanding that food provides direct benefits to the person that consumed the food and indirect benefits to others through human interactions.
Food provides direct benefits to the consumer and indirect benefits to others that interact with the consumer and those that interact with them. The indirect benefits are reciprocal, in that any given pair of persons benefit from each other’s food consumption through interactions among them. Further, the indirect benefits propagate through the human interactions network because each person in the network transmits benefits of food consumption by self and others through interactions among them.
In human interactions involving two persons A and B, person-A benefits from food consumed by person-B while person-B benefits from food consumed by person-A. Additionally, person-A benefits from person-B due to food consumption by others that previously interacted with person-B; and vice versa. Thus, the benefits of food eaten by a person can propagate through an extensive network of people, because of human interactions among them.
The study discusses the direct and indirect benefits of food, how the indirect benefits propagate through others by human interactions, individual responsibilities regarding food, and earning blessing by providing food to others to enable their functions of living among an expanding human interactions network.
Authority to Draw Food from Plants and Animals
At creation, God granted to people the authority to draw food from plants. He authorized humans and other animals to eat plants—vegetables, fruits, nuts, and other proceeds from plants [Genesis 1:29–30]: “Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so.”
After the great flood, God extended human authority for food. He granted to humans the authority to draw food from plants and other animals. He granted them the authority to eat fruits and vegetables, nuts and other plant proceeds, and animal proceeds with limitations.
The limitations regarding eating animals are: do not eat animals with live blood and do not eat your own kind—i.e., do not eat other human beings [Genesis 9:3–5]: “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.”
God’s Purpose for Food
God provides food for sustenance. As David describes, God’s purpose for food is to provide nourishment of the body and soul to perform the functions of living, including human interactions with others [Psalms 104:14–15]: “He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.”
Benefits of Food: Direct and Indirect
A person derives direct benefits from food that he or she consumes. The benefits result from interactions between the human body and food that the person consumes. A person is able to perform functions of living because of the direct benefits of food. Further, functions of living performed by a person can benefit other people through human interactions. Therefore, a person receives indirect benefits from food consumed by another person through human interactions with him or her.
A person benefits directly from food that he or she consumes, because the food enables them to perform their functions of living. Also, a person benefits indirectly from food consumed by others, because he or she benefits from their functions of living, through human interactions with them. The indirect benefits are reciprocal. That is, through human interactions involving two persons A and B, person-A benefits from food consumed by person-B while person-B benefits from food consumed by person-A. The indirect benefits transmit to others and chains of more others, because of human interactions along the chain. The benefits of food eaten by a person can propagate through an extensive network of people, because of human interactions among them.
The indirect benefits consist of two categories. Considering human interactions between two people A and B, person-A benefits from the interactions due to food consumed by person-B. Additionally, person-A benefits from person-B due to the benefits of food consumed by others that previously interacted with person-B. That is, person-B benefits from food consumption by several others and transmits the benefits to person-A through interactions with him or her; and vice versa.
Individual Responsibilities Regarding Food
Because the benefits of food can extend to several people beyond the person that consumed the food, there are individual responsibilities regarding food. Every person owes responsibilities to self and others regarding the quantity and quality of food he or she consumes. Every person owes responsibilities regarding food consumption and responsibilities regarding human interactions.
A person owes responsibilities regarding food consumption to others in direct human interactions with him or her. Such people are affected directly by the person’s food consumption. Also, a person owes responsibilities regarding food consumption to others in indirect human interactions. Such people are affected indirectly by the person’s food consumption, because they interact with other people that previously interacted with him or her. This way, the individual responsibilities regarding food consumption can extend through infinite chains of human interactions anchored on the person that consumed the food.
The individual responsibilities regarding food include appreciation. A person owes appreciation of the human provider of the food and appreciation of God for empowering the human provider.
Additionally, a person owes appreciation of God for the benefits of food and propagating the benefits through numerous other people, including people that are not able to share the food but have opportunity to share the benefits through human interactions.
Blessing from Sharing Food
A person earns blessing by sharing food with others, because of the direct benefits to the recipient and the indirect benefits due to the recipient’s human interactions with others. Sharing food enables the recipient to perform their functions of living and, thus, propagate benefits of the food through chains of others by direct and indirect human interactions among them. Therefore, a person earns blessing by sharing food, because of stimulating the recipient to perform their functions of living among a human interactions network.
Summary of What We Learned
We discuss God’s purpose for food, which includes direct benefits of nourishment of the body and soul to perform functions of living and indirect benefits to others through human interactions.
Because the benefits of food can extend to numerous people beyond the person that consumed the food, there are individual responsibilities regarding food consumption and potential blessings by sharing food with others. The responsibilities include appreciation of the human provider and appreciation of God for empowering the human provider and propagating the benefits of food through human interactions. We earn blessings by sharing food because of enabling the recipient to perform their functions of living among a human interactions network.