Greedy Seagulls

Anyone who has ever spent a decent amount of time at the beach knows all about seagulls. Like other birds, seagulls are constantly flying and walking around in search of food. I was recently at the beach and noticed a bunch of seagulls walking around on the sand like they always do. A group of people several feet away got up for a few minutes to walk down to the ocean. I looked away for a few seconds, and when I looked back, the seagulls had snatched a bag lying under their umbrella! On that day, the seagulls had Cheetos for lunch, and that inspired them to look for more food just like it. If too many Cheetos, cookies, and chips are bad for humans, they are bad for seagulls too! While seagulls will eat just about anything, food provided by humans will make seagulls aggressive and dependent upon our food instead of the food they were meant to catch for themselves in the ocean. Like a seagull, we too must be mindful of what we consume.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

In our modern world, it’s so easy to over consume just about anything. Sports, drama, news, fear, gossip, work, cell phones, and sleep are some examples outside of commonly known food and drink. As Paul writes in Corinthians, our bodies are as sacred as temples, and whatever we do (or consume) must be done to glorify God. Our choices of consumption are endless, but our mission is clear. Stick to the fish in the ocean and like the old hymn says, “Glorify Thy Name in all the earth.”

-Jacob

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