Food for Thought

Another new year and, as most of us do, time for a little self-examination, thinking about the year passed and just what sort of changes in our life, and/or lifestyle, we could implement that would make this year, 2009, the best ever. Well, if it’s like any other year the majority of us will find ourselves doing pretty much the same thing next month as we were doing last month. Change is difficult and major lifestyle changes, which we tend to try to put ourselves through, is nearly impossible. A well thought out plan is always best for change and the slow methodical implementation of that plan generally brings about favorable success. But, if you’re the sort of person that’s happy chewing the cud of last year, January 26th is your day. It’s the Chinese New Year and this will be the year of the Ox. Everybody knows what a cud is, right? When a cow grazes it fills it’s first stomach with grasses and feeds, then settles down in a quiet place and brings up that which has been eaten, so that it can chew it more fully, preparing it for proper digestion. The regurgitated food is called cud. Probably the worse thing we can do for ourselves in the New Year is to sit around chewing on unpleasant experiences of the past. Bringing up the past is not good for our digestive system, or our blood-pressure. If you do nothing better for yourself this year, resolve issues of dissension. Get happy with yourself.

The young graduate asked the elderly farmer, “Which is correct: Is the hen setting or is the hen sitting?” The old farmer replied rather slowly, “Don’t matter! What’s important is, is the hen laying or is the hen lying.”

The Bible teacher asked, “If I sold my house and my car and gave the money to the church, would that get me into heaven?” “NO!”, shouted all the students. “If I clean the church building and mow the yard every week”, he asked, “would that get me into heaven?” Again the class yelled out in unison, “NO!” “Okay”, the teacher continued, “if I were kind to all the animals, gave candy to the children, and loved my wife more, would that get me into heaven?” The answer again, “NO!” “Well”, the teacher insisted, “then how can I get into heaven?” A five-year-old boy shouted, “You gotta be dead!”

[Psalm 119: 97-112] I suppose the “cud chewing” process could be disgusting to some. Here’s a little “food for thought” from a disciple of Christ. I think too many people approach God’s Word as a fast food item, you know, show up to worship once a week, maybe twice a year, quickly gobble something down, then go about their business. That’s not very nourishing and most such dieters simply get fat on what they think they know about God. The Word of God needs to be approached as a feast. We need to fill ourselves, as often as possible, with its goodness and then find a quiet time and place to “bring it back up” and “chew on it” for a while. Go to a dictionary and you’ll find a human application to “chewing the cud”. It relates to meditation: to consider; to mull over. Throughout Psalm 119 the poet speaks repeatedly of the spiritual value of meditation – what one scholar, perhaps with the cud chewing cow in mind, called mental mastication. We live in a society dominated by the demand for instant gratification, fast food and quick fixes. The people of God need to promote a calmer, quieter, more reflective approach to life. Let us fill our innermost parts with spiritual food and take the time to chew and re-chew this life-sustaining feast from God’s lush pasture, His Word.