What foods do you like that might not be very healthy for you? Is your guilty pleasure sugar or chocolate? Are you a savory fan, and maybe potato chips or French fries are your Achilles heel? For me, I struggle along the lines of savory morsels and salty treats. I also know that we can struggle with food quantities, particularly as Americans, given the large servings that are often served at popular restaurants—all you can eat, along with supersizing portions and discounted side dishes.
Eating food that is bad for us, and consuming excessive quantities, aren’t new problems for humanity. And it’s curious to think about this in relation to Daniel, who was a Jewish leader taken into captivity in Babylon. In Daniel 1, we get an interesting look at the standard Babylonian customs in relation to feeding the captive leaders that had been moved from their homelands. Consider the dietary and education plans outlined in Daniel 1:5, “The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service.”
The king’s choice food mentioned in this verse isn’t fully clear, but most historians and theologians think that choice foods meant breads, sweets, fatty meats and all things unhealthy. The menu provided for the Israelite captives didn’t square with their kosher regime. Consequently, Daniel petitioned the Babylonian overseer to run a trial test for ten days to let Daniel and his friends follow their own eating plan and then compare the Jewish captives against the other princes after ten days—like a “taste test” of sorts.
This was risky for the overseer because if the men in his care became sick or emaciated, he would be held responsible for their health. He agreed, nevertheless, to Daniel’s request. After ten days, it was determined that the Jewish captives were better and even fatter than their counterparts, so they were allowed to continue with their eating plan.
As we think about these events in Daniel 1:8-16, which I just summarized, it’s interesting to reflect on a few things that might be helpful for us, particularly as we find ourselves on the cusp of holiday festivities. I suggest that we choose to keep a mindset of moderation as we enter another a season of celebrations, parties, consumption and merriments. For me, it’s very easy and tempting to forego moderation during the holidays and then struggle to recalibrate my diet and habits in January. I plan to be more mindful this year about all the festivities, aiming for moderation. I also think we’d be wise to take a page from the book of Daniel in relation to food selection. I appreciate that I’m writing against the grain at this moment, because the holiday season includes cookies, treats, various punches at parties, sweets, hot chocolate and lots more. Maybe it would be helpful to pre-decide our plans for treats and sweets management, such that we don’t fall into the sugar rabbit hole and find ourselves regretting consuming too much sugar. Maybe as well, we could do a test to check ourselves pre and post holidays—kind of like the ten day “tasting test” that Daniel and his friends did. Perhaps we can gain momentum this holiday season to have a strong start to the new year!
