Welcome to a new week of episodes with John Piper on the Aspastor John podcast.

Today we talk about energy drinks.

And Jose writes in to ask of this,

Pastor John, energy drinks are controversial in our youth group and as someone who likes

them, I was wondering if there are any negative effects or reasons to not drink them.

They help me focus and to have energy during work.

I only drink one every two or three days, but I would like to have some spiritual insight

in order that I might run this race without being slowed down.

And he ends with a smiley emoticon, Pastor John, how should we think about energy drinks?

Well, it might be helpful to take our starting point from Paul's words and first Corinthians

about how he navigates the whole area of appetites, whether food or energy drinks or sex.

And what foods mean to Paul, what he takes into his body.

So here's the pivotal text for me, it's first Corinthians 6, 12, 15, maybe.

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful.

All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated, I would say, or mastered or

ruled or enslaved by anything.

Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy both the one

and the other.

Now, let me pause there and say, there's a lot of controversy around what in Paul's

chapter here are slogans from his adversaries in current and what are his own words.

So it might be a slogan, food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food.

So they're justifying all kinds of things.

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