God continues: And when you eat and when you drink, are you not eating and drinking for yourselves?\u2014establishing that both fasting and feasting can be performed with selfish motivation, independent of genuine relationship with God or genuine concern for His will. The parallel between fasting and eating/drinking suggests that the mode of food consumption is not the issue; rather, the motivation is crucial. Whether abstaining or partaking, the community can be oriented toward itself rather than toward God. The rhetorical structure forces acknowledgment: of course they eat and drink for themselves, out of physical necessity and desire. But the implication is that these necessities should be subordinated to higher concerns and that orientation toward God should transcend mere bodily functions. This verse establishes a fundamental theological principle: all human activities, whether religious or ordinary, are subject to the question of motivation and relationship with God.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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