Skip to main content

Eating and Drinking

             Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.  (Romans 14:16-18) 

            The fourteenth chapter of Romans deals with believers being free to eat or not eat or observe or not observe holidays by their consciences. And I suspect the response to this was the same thing we see today. “Oh good! I can do whatever I want!”

            But Paul tells us that the kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking or not eating and not drinking. It’s about doing what is right, being at peace, having joy, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. It recalls the song “Back to the Heart of Worship.” We’re so easily distracted by the weather…that other person…the music…the decorations…that other person’s failures, weaknesses, or sins… or our own needs, failures, weaknesses, or sins. That last one is a regular in my prayer life. I could sing “Oh Lord, It’s Hard To Be Humble (When You’re Perfect In Every Way)” because I’m such a perfect failure. And I am a failure – but perfection is impossible, and my whining about how much of a failure I am puts the spotlight on me.

            I’ve read that Frank Laubauch, a missionary who founded a worldwide literacy movement, challenged himself to think about or speak to God at least once a minute. How he kept track of such things is a mystery to me, but it’s reminiscent of the discipline practiced (once upon a time) in monasteries and abbeys. They had several times each day when they were required to attend a service and/or pray. I don’t like adding such things to my To Do list because I don’t want it to become something I check off, but building a better habit requires paying attention to the habit being constructed. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more