Wake Up, Look Up

Hello, everyone. Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch, and in today's episode, we're asking the question, should Christians delete DoorDash? This is prompted by an article I read in the Atlantic about an innovation that's killing restaurant culture. And basically, the argument goes like this. Nearly 75% of US restaurant orders in 2024 were takeout. 75% of the business that restaurants are doing is people coming in and picking it up and taking it home. Or more likely, sending DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, uh, a company like that, to go pick up their food and bring it to them. As a result, we restaurants have become glorified pickup counters. They're no longer about actual hospitality as much as they are churning out food for people they may never see. Uh, delivery platforms also eat up a large portion of the revenue. So restaurants are working through how to stay economically viable in a time where people are not coming in. Uh, even it's gotten so bad that, believe it or not, even the innovator of grubhub, Colin Wallace, calls the restaurant industry collateral dam and admits that in retrospect, his innovation has actually caused some societal problems he's not sure are best. And I agree with him, actually. I don't want to argue, of course, that DoorDash or grubhub or Uber Eats are sinful, but I do want to argue for the spiritual significance, believe it or not, of going out to eat. Now, I'm not talking about always. There can be spiritual significance to eating at home, too, and even to saving the money. But if you're going to spend the money, I want to encourage you to go out. Let me try to offer you a theology of going out instead of ordering in. Uh, let me just start with this. We're in a culture where the biblical idea of fellowship is fading. You know, in Hebrews 10:24 and 25, we're told to consider how we can stir one another up to love and good works. We're told not to neglect meeting together. Those verses are often used to push Christians towards attending a local church, and that's an appropriate understanding of those verses. But they mean more than just that. Spending time together. Together is a vital part of spiritual growth. It's a vital part of being part of the church. Ah, it's a vital part of being human. Ordering in to eat at home is further evidence of an isolated culture where we're more comfortable to sit on our couch than we are to actually interact with people at a restaurant. You have to look people in their eyes. You have to have conversation. You talk about your day, you talk about what the Lord is doing. When you punt on going out, you're punting on all of that. It ends up being you on your couch with your phone and maybe a spouse or kids next to you, but no real engagement. When we lose that, we're losing something. I'll tell you what else. Believe it or not, the work of preparing the food matters. Ecclesiastes, uh, 3:13 says, to find satisfaction in all your toil. I actually think restaurants and the creation of food, food is such an intimate part of what it means to be human. I mean, my goodness, when Jesus enter instituted communion, he did it over a meal. And when a person pours their heart and soul into creating a meal, into presentation, into hospitality, they are saying something valuable about you and what it looks like to serve you and about them and the gifts of creativity that they have. When they throw that in a Styrofoam container that gets thrown in a plastic bag and sits in a car for 20 minutes, we lose the artistry and creativity and hospitality of an intrinsically human task. After all, lions don't roast the gazelle before they eat it. Cooking and preparing food is intrinsically human. And when we punt on that, we're turning each other into commodities, not actual neighbors to love. And that's the danger, of course. And that's my third point is people become products 1 Timothy 6:10 says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And I think that applies here. And here's why. If all restaurants begin to see their customers as, as people who they're preparing food for people, they don't see people they don't touch people they don't experience. The consequence of that is we're continuing to untether from appreciating one another's humanity. It's a further move towards. All the people I see and know are on my phone or on my teleph television. They're not real to me. Human interaction ensures that we value each other. Otherwise all we are are two bank accounts communicating with ones and zeros. And of course I've alluded to this. But the fourth point is this. It is not good for you to be alone. That's Genesis 2:18. You've got to get off your couch. If you feel stagnant, if you feel anxious, if you feel depressed. I'm not saying that human interaction is a cure all. But I am saying it is always part of the solution. Get out of your house, spend time with people, ask about their day, share about yours, see the artistry in the way a meal is prepared, in the way you are served, and then value and validate the preparer and the server and we all will win. As a result, the kingdom of God moves forward when people are with people. Isolation is bad for you, it's bad for them, and it's bad for our economy. I'm not saying you can't use DoorDash, but I am saying if you go DoorDash exclusively, you will suffer on just about every level. So do something holy this weekend. Grab some people you love, go out to eat and enjoy yourselves. And leave a good tip. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!