What do you get teased about in your family? Everybody in mine knows I’m likely to push second helpings onto dinner guests and offer leftovers to them as they leave our house. Why? Because I have a thing about good things being wasted. I’m not sure where I picked up my aversion. It was probably impressed upon me by my parents, who went through the Great Depression, although some lean times in our own lives also taught me not to take for granted the good things in life.

With my attitude (what some in the family would call obsession) towards waste, you can imagine how much Adam Chandler’s article in The Atlantic (July 15, 2016) bothered me. He pointed out that 50 percent of all farm produce in the United States is thrown away … 60 million tons each year! For a family of four, this waste amounts to a financial loss of $1,600 annually. I was surprised to learn, according to the EPA, wasted food is the single biggest occupant in American landfills.

We could discuss all the reasons for this and lament about what a wasteful and spoiled generation we are. Chandler proposed two main reasons: how cheaply food can be purchased in the U.S. and how reluctant we are to eat anything that’s not perfectly shaped, the right color, and at the peak of freshness. Grocery stores have learned not to put bruised, misshapen, wilted, or discolored produce out on their shelves. But none of that is what I want to focus on here.

Truth is, the food we ingest to keep our bodies going is inherently perishable. No matter how much we try to keep waste down, there’s always going to be some. Freshly grown food – unless it’s pumped with chemicals or canned – has a short life span. It serves its purpose and then it’s gone, to be replaced with the next crop coming on.

With all this in mind, I have to ask myself … Why do I spend so much of my time on something so temporary? No matter how good the meal I prepared was, how carefully I shopped for and selected the perfect ingredients, and no matter how much we (sometimes with dinner guests) enjoyed it, my body will be looking for another meal in about four hours. Was all that effort well spent?

If you know our family – that one of our high values is to enjoy fellowship with others while eating well – you know I’m not saying preparing and eating good food isn’t valuable. It represents a part of life that’s been designed by God to provide for our needs and give us great enjoyment at the same time. But sometimes I need to be reminded of Jesus’ wise words. They help put and keep things in the right perspective.

“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life” (John 6:27).

His point? As you go about meeting your physical needs, don’t neglect your spiritual life. By comparison, it’s far more important.

Jesus didn’t just teach this to others; He modeled it in how He lived. In spite of the crowds pressing around Him and the demands on His time, Jesus sought out alone time with His Father, to receive the spiritual food necessary for His ministry life. He sought first the kingdom of God, and everything else He needed for daily life was provided. As He told the devil in the wilderness, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3).

It’s not a matter of either/or. We need both physical and spiritual food to sustain our lives. But if we’re honest, we’ll readily admit we spend way too much time investing in the things that won’t last and way too little time on what will count for eternity.

Charles Finney, a famous preacher of the 1800s, didn’t start out with a desire to be used by God to bring the 2^nd Great Awakening to the United States. A student studying law, he was sitting one day in a New York office where an older man asked him, “What are you going to do when you finish your course?” “Put out a shingle and practice law,” he replied. “Then what?” “Get rich.” “Then what?” “Retire.” “Then what?” “Die.” “Then what?” Finney’s cocky demeanor changed as he soberly considered his answer to that. Finally, he said in a trembling voice, “the Judgment.” When he saw the contrast between what was fleeting and what really mattered, he abandoned his law career and began preaching the Gospel instead.

The life Jesus offers His followers is one of substance, not transitory pleasure. We may not be called to preach as Finney was, but we are called to give more time and attention to our spiritual lives, using what we’ve been given to glorify God. Those in the world who need to know Jesus are watching us … to see what we give our hearts and minds to. What’s most important to us will be reflected in our priorities, values, and pursuits. The apostle Paul reminds us: “Set your HEARTS on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your MINDS on things above, not on earthly things. For … your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1-3, emphasis added).

As much as I don’t like to see physical things (like food) wasted, there’s a far greater and more tragic waste going on in God’s family. We are failing to share the Word of God wherever we can. We need to be reminded often that it alone is everlasting, permanently satisfying, and powerful enough to change lives. By investing in “the food that endures” we’ll reap a bountiful harvest that won’t spoil or end up in a landfill. It’s a promised return too good to waste!