Menu Choices

 

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night.  Psalm 63:5-6

Restaurants are making it easier to stay on a “controlled eating plan” (I’m sick of being on diets!).  Before we ever enter a restaurant, we can go online and check out the menu – including calories, fat, and carbs in each dish. For the past few weeks I have been deciding what to order before I ever leave home.

The hard part for me is sticking with the decision once I am in the restaurant. I am a little fickle about food, if what sounded good half an hour ago doesn’t sound good when I’m ordering, I’m reluctant to stick with my plan. I try to resolve the ordering problem by not tempting myself with what’s on the menu once I am in the restaurant.

I know I should follow the same practice with the way I study the Bible. When  I get into a situation that requires an ethical or moral decision, I need to know before I get there what I would do. Many of us say that the Bible is our rulebook for life – but when we see all the choices the world offers, we falter and head in the wrong direction.

Do we have enough knowledge stored away, have we chosen beforehand what we will do?

Sometimes these decisions allow for time  to go back and look things up – to seek what God would have us do if we don’t know. Other times, a decision has to be made in the moment.  If we didn’t come into a situation prepared, we will not make wise decisions.

I battle with how important a few pounds are to God. Is it really important that I be the perfect size? (Is there even such a thing as the perfect size?) Does He really care if I splurge on that piece of cheesecake occasionally?

The answer is that He calls us to be disciplined,  especially  about the things He commands.

1 Timothy 2:9 says that self-control is one of the attributes that should adorn the woman of God. In 2 Timothy 3 the scriptures group a lack of self-control with things like pride, arrogance, being abusive, unholy, and heartless. On a more positive note Peter (2 Peter 1:5-8) tells us to add it to our faith along with some other attributes.

The discipline God calls us to is greater than just our physical food. He would have us apply this understanding to our spiritual food. If we are being fed on the Word of God regularly we will be better prepared for any situation or decision that arises. If we say we believe that “God’s word is lamp unto our feet and light unto our path” (Psalm 119:105) we cannot treat it like we do a menu. We cannot pick and choose what we will read and what we will avoid reading. It is all good.

The Bible says that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4). Are we storing as much of His Word as we are the fat of rich foods (Psalm 63:5-6)?