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of life hold a character-forming power. Eternal issues are at stake
in the mundane choices of everyday life yet these important
choices seldom present themselves in extraordinary appearance. 35
They are incorporated into the seamless flow of daily activities,
comfortably positioning us to fasten our attention on seemingly
important matters. Meanwhile, the very fabric of our lives is
shaped by this innocuous flow.
Leon Kass takes a similar approach in The Hungry Soul,
noting that the first and most urgent activity of human life is eating,
yet we spend more time thinking about how to make it possible or
engaging in the activity that reflecting about the meaning of
eating. 36 Food and eating in many cultures carry social memory
and ethnicity. In some cultures, food is as important as religion. 37
Yet here is the issue: how can these matters consume such a
major part of our lives without some sense of obligation to reflect
on their meaning and be sure that these activities are in alignment
with God‘s will? If we fail to do so, we may be guilty of
disobeying the Lord because we have disregarded or neglected to
discover what his will really is.
In such instances this may be unintended and that is probably
most often the case, but it is nonetheless inexcusable. In The Way
of the (Modern) World, Craig Gay writes:
It is said that ideas have consequences, and this is
undoubtedly true. Still it seems that the ideas with the most
profound consequences are frequently taken for granted.
They are the ideas that lie just behind conscious thought,
providing a kind of foundation for the deliberations of
35
Gilbert Meilaender, Things That Count, Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2000, pp.
123-143.
36
Leon Kass, The Hungry Soul, New York: The Free Press, 1994, p.3.
37
Jeffrey Selingo, ―How Food and Memory Come Together,‖ The Chronicle of
Higher Education (30 July 1999): 7.