1 Corinthians 10:30-31
If I can thank God for the
food and enjoy it, why let someone spoil everything just because he
thinks I am wrong? Well, I’ll tell you why. It is because you must do
everything for the glory of God, even your eating and drinking.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
When our nephew John
was about three or four, he went to visit Greg’s parents. During one
of the meals, Grandma “E” served corn on the cob. When she put John’s
plate in front of him, he came unhinged. There were no “things”!
Grandma “E” could not figure out at first what he was talking about…but
she quickly realized that he needed “handles” for his corn…namely, those
yellow skewers that look like miniature ears of corn – the ones that
you get in the kitchen section at a department store! These were what
his mother had…didn’t everyone have them? Well, Grandma “E” did not
have those (she did shortly thereafter!), and in what I thought was a
stroke of genius, she stuck toothpicks into either end of Johnny’s ear
of corn, and he reluctantly used those for handles!
The absence
of those yellow “corn” skewers did not alter the ear of corn. It didn’t
change how it was grown – or how it tasted! But in the mind of a
3-year-old, it changed everything and was not up for negotiation! I
wish I had a nickel for every time a child has looked at a food that has
been presented to him/her and retorted, “Blech!” without so much as
even a single taste.
We can somewhat forgive children for this,
because after all, they ARE children who are still learning the art of
polite behavior. But I have seen adults turn up their noses and refuse
to sample something with embarrassing fanfare. I have seen grown men
and women refuse to eat a casserole because “different foods were
touching!” I saw beauty, fashion and home design editors for some of
the country’s top magazines turn up their noses at beautiful trays of
bite-sized pieces of catfish, carefully prepared by a wonderful New York
City chef. People who would not give a second thought to spearing a
snail from its shell in a fancy French restaurant waved the tray away,
and with an air of superiority, uttered… “No, thank you!” For the
record, those who actually dared to sample the fried tidbits LOVED them
and were immediate converts!
What Paul is telling the Corinthians
here is about more than just food or our dining customs. Paul is
telling us that we need to get over ourselves. Just because this is not
necessarily how WE have always done things does not mean that the other
person is wrong – or less of a Christian...or even less of a human
being, for that matter. We must not look down on the poor…or those who
are less fortunate, for how they manage from day to day. We must not be
judgmental and critical of those who have a different way of doing
things, and we most certainly must not do this to people of other
cultures and ethnicities. We must remember that God made them, just as
He created us…and how we treat them must glorify and honor Him at every
turn. We must also not criticize others for their worship style or how
they demonstrate their faith.
We all get too caught up in the
“that’s-not-how-it’s-done” way of thinking. From even the littlest
things like “my roommate or spouse doesn’t fold the towels like I do” to
“what kind of mother lets her kids go out looking like that” to “we
never did it like that at my other church/school/team/club/place of
work”…our words and actions are often not the kind that glorify God and
honor all that He has done for us. They do not say to others, “God
loves us and wants ALL of us to belong to Him…not just the chosen few
who ‘do everything my way’.”
Change is never easy…and some of
us have been stuck in our ways for a long, long time! But if we want to
glorify God and honor Him, we have to be willing to make the effort to
set aside our own egos and see the bigger picture. Let's face it...you
may still like to eat your corn on the cob with
those little yellow skewers, but at least you’ll know that it tastes the
same, either way. We must learn that there is often a difference
between compromising your Christian values and doing things in another
manner than the one you prefer. As long as God is exalted and
respected, considering and accommodating another person’s feelings may
be best for all concerned.
©2015 Debbie Robus
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