Hold The Bacon

I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. – Romans 14:14-15

Today’s Reading: Psalms 89-90; Romans 14

At the beginning of this long journey I wrote a post about one of Jesus’ parables. The lesson was that it isn’t what goes in us that makes us unclean but what comes out of us from our heart.

Clearly food choice has always been an issue of extreme importance.

But here is a flip side. Well, really it’s not a flip side but it is another perspective on loving your neighbor.

Paul is writing to the church in Rome about various things, but one of those things is a divide amongst the people about where they get their meat. Some folks in the congregation were eating food that others thought was unclean. Paul responded to the crisis by saying that food doesn’t make anyone unclean but why do something around a friend that will cause them spiritual hardship?

This kind of thing happens all of the time. Do you know someone who struggles with addiction? Perhaps they are working on self control in some aspect of their lives. Maybe they love the “drank” or love to gamble. Maybe they are like me and they love terribly terrific fast food.

I remember when I was fasting one of my friends was eating some GOOD food in front of me. He was like, hey man… I know you want some.

And I did… I did oh so very much.

So mean he was! I look back on it and laugh because it was funny; but I have seen the same thing happen in situations where the stakes are much higher. I’ve been in clubs and bars where friends are trying to bait one in their group into drinking more than they want. I’ve seen relationships where the one spouse who is trying to exercise and get healthy is being tempted with horrible food by the other spouse who resents their desire to change. I have friends who have had to cut off old “friends” because those folks kept tempting them to return to the lifestyle that they were trying to grow out of.

I think we have all done this to a certain degree. Often times it isn’t malicious. We have seen our friend be so good with their diet that we think they deserve a Carl’s Jr break. Or we feel sorry for them and think that they deserve a nice stiff drink as a reward for their long standing sobriety. After all what’s the harm? We can handle it so why can’t they?

Well sometimes they can’t. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. Those around us may or may not share in them. It is important to be aware of that, to be sensitive to the effect we are having on those around us.

This is what love is. Love is thinking about others before ourselves. Sometimes we have to forbear something we want for a short time to accommodate the challenges of those we love.

And that is ok. It is called being considerate.

How considerate are you? I bet not as much as you think. Think about it. 

Pass the Bacon!

Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'…

Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."

"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' - Matthew 15: 10-11, 15-18

I love me some swine. It tastes rather good in many forms: ham, sausage, pork cops, neckbones (thank you Mom!). But I have a special place in my heart for bacon.

Mmmhhmmmm bacon…

One of the many mysteries of this world for me is why bacon tastes so good and how it is that anyone could honestly not like the taste of it.

Sure there are a lot of folk who swear off the swine for various reasons but do they really not like the taste? Unfortunately, I wouldn’t believe them if they said so.

I guess some questions need no answers.

But on the real… I’m cool with someone not liking the swine; more swine for me. But please don’t look at me like I’m a heathen because I dabble in the bacon from time to time. What does my love for bacon say about who I really am?

Nothing at all.

What Jesus is saying in this passage is rather interesting; and to be honest, quite challenging. He’s saying that what comes out of us as words and actions is what really matters, because it is what we say and do that reflects the condition of our hearts.

This is in line with one of the major themes of his message that we have been discussing. He changed the game from spirituality being a game of rules and traditions to being a deep and personal connection with God at the heart. It is this starting from within, this working at our hearts at the core that makes his message so revolutionary to me.

For some people it isn’t so hard to have an outer shell that seems extra holy and righteous. But it is only when our hearts and minds become refined to reflect the best parts of us that we can walk the good path in a way that is true and authentic.

Otherwise, our “good” acts are just for show.

When we spend more time focusing on the exterior than the interior, eventually what is on the inside bubbles up and erupts to the surface. Don’t believe me? Just ask the plethora of major public figures who have been exposed lately.

The sad thing about many of these folk is that it must be terrifying to live with this conflict between a pristine outer shell and the true being on the inside.

No one is perfect. We all have struggles and weaknesses that cause us to stumble.

God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, so there’s no need to pretend. We just have to be honest about who we really are and where we are along this journey of life. When we are honest with ourselves we open the door for God to introduce us to our best self.

No matter how far away this best self may seem, He will help us get there.

Today’s Reading: Exodus 7-8; Matthew 15: 1-20