Friday night was the end of the week. My mum always prepared and cooked great meals. But this was Friday night! Take-away was the highlight each fortnight. Take-away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonald’s , KFC, Subway or Nandos.
Just good old, plain fish and chips. And our shop was a posh one because all was wrapped in butcher’s paper and then the outer wrap was a news paper. And, hopefully we got the ‘funnies’, cartoon strips, on our news paper to read.
We would sit out in the middle of the back yard, on the grass, unwrap our treasure and ravenously consume all until only the paper and some salt remained. The laughter and playful banter would last much longer.
A simple delight we looked forward to.
But no longer. Today, take-away is a common meal to the average family. A typical quick lunchtime meal. Even when we ‘go to the shops’ and mealtime approaches, take-away is a quick choice. Choice – have you noticed all the competing outlets gnawing at your senses and ready to lighten your wallet.
A.W. Tozer, in his book, “In Pursuit of God”, wrote:
Before the Lord God made man upon the earth He first prepared for him by creating a world of useful and pleasant things for his sustenance and delight. In the Genesis account of the creation these are called simply ‘things.’ They were made for man’s uses, but they were meant always to be external to the man and subservient to him. In the deep heart of the man was a shrine where none but God was worthy to come. Within him was God; without, a thousand gifts which God had showered upon him.
But sin has introduced complications and has made those very gifts of God a potential source of ruin to the soul.
Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and ‘things’ were allowed to enter. Within the human heart ‘things’ have taken over. Men have now by nature no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer, but there in the moral dusk stubborn and aggressive usurpers fight among themselves for first place on the throne.
In today’s world, our fast and ever changing world, we are caught up and swept along in a torrent of easy choices that we pay for dearly. Not only do we have to work harder and longer to afford this lifestyle, but we pay through the loss of health. Obesity is on the increase, heart attacks, clogged arteries, kidney failure, depression and a whole myriad of exotic diseases that are becoming more common place.
We glare at the thought of our processed genetically modified food as we feast our eyes on that next mouth watering treat we just gotta buy and gulp down as we rush on towards our next destination.
When was the last time you freshly prepared a well cooked meal, sat down in peace and savoured the delight of gentle conversation?
A time where there is no rush to finish the meal to watch the favorite TV show, SMS a friend, play the latest on the Playstation, Nintendo Wii , X-boxes, video game, 999 channels on SKY, Foxtel, video/dvd films, or update your status on the iPhone, Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed, LinkedIn, Plaxo, MySpace, Plurk, or just play or trawl on the Internet and chat rooms!
The sit-down, well prepared meal, made with love and dedication, has now become the simple delight to look forward to. Maybe it needs to be fully rescued. A mealtime for the family. A sit down, let’s enjoy each others company and not be in a rush to be somewhere else, time.
Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
2 Timothy 2:7
What’s for dinner tonight?