How is it possible for us to be both hungry and happy, and what does it have to do with the Gospel?

In a recent episode of the Bible Project Podcast, Tim and Jon discussed a familiar passage in the Gospel of Matthew that drew my attention — mainly because my understanding of it differs slightly from theirs. I want to share with you my perspective on this section of the Beatitudes and explain why it is important to understand that Jesus is not using a metaphor when He says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied.”

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— Chapters —

0:00 Intro

1:18 Theme

1:53 Tim Mackey made a logical presumption

6:30 In must be a metaphor… right?

7:33 Understand hunger

10:47 Understand righteousness

13:34 The gospel of connection

15:35 God’s story of reimagining our hunger

17:22 Applications

19:39 Final thoughts

If you’ve ever had a child spin out of control over something seemingly small and insignificant, then you know what it’s like to live in the Distress Cycle.

In this installment of the Hunger for Connection, we continue to dig into the meaning of hunger, how it relates to how our children relate to the world around them, and how understanding the Distress Cycle can help us as foster and adoptive caregivers to see our children differently.

In the process, you and I will also begin to come to terms with our own tendancies to get caught in the Distress Cycle and how to avoid it.

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— Chapters —

0:00 Intro

1:29 Theme

2:03 Thanks & leave a review!

3:30 Review of the 4 D’s and the cyclical nature of hunger

5:23 Returning to infancy and distress

7:54 The cycle intensifies

12:35 Your distress cycle

15:13 Your child can’t feed you

18:09 Find the comfort to escape your distress cycle

21:09 Closing thoughts

At the intersection of interpersonal neurogastronomy and child development is an insightful truth: none of us were born understanding hunger.

That’s not to say we weren’t born hungry or for the capacity to be hungry; hunger is more than simply the discomfort it causes us. In order for hunger to do its job, understanding must be developed — a set of neurological connections formed in relationship that allow us to recognize hunger for what it is and be able to discern how to satisfy it.

This perspective holds powerful lessons for those of us who are trying to help kids from hard places to contextualize the discomforts they are feeling in their bodies — whether by the hunger for food or by the Hunger for Connection.

I hope you are served by this episode. If so, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

Click here to check out the book Neurogastronomy by Gordon Shepherd!

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Visit my website

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— Chapters —

0:00 Intro

0:33 Theme

1:09 A review of neuroplasticity

2:28 Discomfort without context

5:05 The power of feeding and being fed

8:46 The important role of feeding in contextualizing feelings

10:46 Kids need help contextualizing their feelings

13:56 Struggling to connect with a disconnected child

14:51 The context of your own discomfort

17:02 Closing thoughts