Maxim #7, Part 1: Introduction

In Fr. Thomas Hopko’s 55 Maxims for Christian Living, he outlines 55 simple practices he believes characterize an authentic Christian life. The list is brilliant. Not only does it appeal to the brain’s need for organization (and my personal love of lists), but it deconstructs the pursuit of an authentic relationship with God into actionable items. These items are simple, but not easy. I think one only has to get through maxim #1 - “Be always with Christ and trust God with everything” - to anticipate the joyful invitation for spiritual struggle this list outlines. 

Check out the full list here.

You don’t have to travel too far down the list to find the maxim touching on an act we all do every day - eating. Maxim #7 is as follows: eat good food in moderation, and fast on fasting days. Simple, right? Well today, you do not have to look too hard if you want to complicate it. Lifestyle magazines, website sidebar ads, instagram feeds, diet ad billboards, etc. are all breeding grounds for wide-ranging, oft-conflicting, and narrowly-defined ways of caring for your body pushed by the $5 billion wellness industry, where what constitutes “good food” is always up for debate, moderation is a mystery, and wait, what does fasting have to do with it?

I had the opportunity to dig into these questions as part of a 55 Maxims virtual discussion series through the Orthodox Christian Fellowship. See recording of the talk on Maxim #7 and others here.

Over the next several posts, we will dig into these three ideas: “good food,” “moderation,” and “fasting,” and aim to return to the simple and peaceful way of nourishing our bodies. And who knows, it may be nourishing for the soul, too.

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