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Colossians 2:16 "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath."

 

Paul's getting at the strict regulations often imposed by the fussy, those too caught up in "human tradition" (Colossians 2:8) He goes on to say, "If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belong to the world? Why you submit to regulations, 'Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch' (referring to things which all perish as they are used), according to human precepts and doctrines? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom and promoting rigor of devotion and self-abasement and severity to the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh." (Colossians 2:20-23)

 

There are always people who try to impose their understanding of proper limitations on us, and food and drink are one of their prime targets. Nowadays, the limits they impose are often not for religious reasons, but for "health" or dietary ones. Over the years, I have been looked at askance for buying for my family: full fat ice cream, bacon, white flour, butter, whole milk, heavy cream, and the list goes on. Nonetheless, I have found that, in the end, the health recommendations usually catch up to my policy of eating the natural things God gave us (in moderation) rather than man-made or “tinkered with” substitutes.

 

No matter why they’re doing it, people telling us what and how much to eat or drink are just meddlesome and should be ignored. At the same time, though, Paul is not telling us to act with abandon. We are responsible for ourselves. We should come up with our own reasonable limitations, and even fast and abstain willingly at times. 

 

Paul says the restrictions imposed on us by others “have no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh”. That is true, but the ones we impose on ourselves certainly do! Only we know our weaknesses and our proclivities. If we are prone to overindulgence in food or drink, or anything else, we should recognize that and limit ourselves, rather than looking to others to tell us how.