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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. 


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