Meat Of Life!

Many years ago, our two oldest children (who were quite young at the time) were taken on a picnic by my younger brother. As they got ready to eat and were preparing the hotdog buns with all the stuff that goes on them, my brother told our son he had forgotten the hotdogs. Our son thought that was so funny, but was still content as he prepared to eat the hotdog bun with all the fixings, minus the hotdog. My brother was only kidding, however, and had not actually forgotten the hotdogs.

When cooking, forgetting about the herbs and spices can make the food taste bland. However, though these have the ability to enhance flavor, how satisfied would we be with just herbs and spices alone? Don’t we also want the meat or other foods that they complement? Is the same not also true in approaching life?

It is possible to get so focused on some of the tiniest details that the bigger things are forgotten. Such was an accusation Jesus levied against many of the Jewish leaders of that day.

We read…
“(23) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you TITHE MINT and DILL and CUMIN, and HAVE NEGLECTED THE WEIGHTIER matters of the law: JUSTICE and MERCY and FAITHFULNESS. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (24) You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” (Mathew 23:23-24 ESV)

Note that Jesus did not say it was wrong for them to have tithed such things. It was a requirement of the law. However, in so doing they should not have forgotten what Jesus referred to as “weightier matters”: JUSTICE, MERCY, and FAITHFULNESS. These leaders were so precise in one area of their life and yet grossly negligent in another. They had the spice, but not the substance; straining out the small while chocking down the huge!

Do we make a big deal out of little things while forgetting some of the weightier matters of life? Little stuff can have its importance and should not be neglected in our interaction with others. Those actions can aid in seasoning life for those around us. However, we also need to keep JUSTICE, MERCY, and FAITHFULNESS in mind as we go through all of life’s activities. Remembering the meat of Christian living and all the additives that complement it can help others get a taste of what God’s goodness is all about. May our life provide something for others to savor.

Have a great day FOLLOWING GOD’S RECIPE FOR LIVING!
Carl

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