I love buffets. They are the absolute best case food scenarios for picky eaters like me..
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Just a little background on me. When it comes to food, I live by one simple rule: If it’s green, it doesn’t go in my mouth. Actually, that was my original rule in my food bill of rights. Since then, there have been several amendments to my food constitution. Here’s a few:
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Amendment #4 – If it’s a vegetable, other than corn or potatoes, it doesn’t go in my mouth.
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Amendment #7 – When in doubt, don’t eat it because it’s probably vile.
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If it sounds like these amendments were written by a child, well it’s because they were, but much like our country sticks to rules that were written 225 years ago, I stick to mine.
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Is it a little ludicrous to follow rules written by a child? Well, I have an amendment that addresses that.
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Amendment #17 – People may tell you, “Now that you’re an adult, your taste buds have changed. Go ahead and give this green bean casserole a try. I bet you’ll like it.” These people aren’t looking out for your best interests. Don’t be fooled by them and their evil intentions. They might even try to tempt you by wrapping green beans in bacon. Don’t take the bait. You know how unpleasant green beans really are, wrapping them in bacon doesn’t change that. It just ruins perfectly good bacon. Ignore these people and their food promptings.
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Ridiculous? Yeah probably but I can’t help it. I am a very picky eater.
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So when it comes to buffets, I’m all, “Heck yes!”
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I grab my plate and head straight for the meat and starches. I’ll have some of this fried fish, some corn nuggets, is that Salisbury steak? Oh you know I’m gonna have me some of that. Let’s see, cornbread, macaroni and cheese, some more meat, a little more meat and some meat. That’s me. I head straight for the good stuff, giving the cabbage, cole slaw, beans of all types, peas, carrots, salads of all types, asparawhatevers etc….. a wide berth. I ignore them all together.
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Buffets are great. Pick the stuff you like, ignore the stuff you don’t.
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So not to try to punch you in the stomach now that you’re hungry but do you ever treat The Bible like a buffet?
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Okay, I’ll have some abundant life, some salvation, is that God’s Blessings? Oh you know I’m gonna have me some of that. Let’s see, Holy Spirit, Christ’s Strength, some more of God’s Blessings etc… Meanwhile steering your plate clear of the, being a blessing to others, loving your neighbors as yourselves, tithing, loving God more than anything, including your family.
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Are you guilty?
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Man I am.
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And I bet I have plenty of company. We live in a buffet world and let’s face it, we kind of dig the buffet world, but the abundant life God has for us can’t be found in the buffet world.
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As Christians you have to decide, are you going to take the plate God Himself dished up for you or are you going to try to pick and choose? Buffet lovers a.k.a. World lovers, don’t like others dishing up their plates because chances are, especially for guys like me, there’s going to be some stuff on there that’s not overly appealing. There might also be some stuff on there that you know you don’t like as well as some stuff that you don’t even know what it is.
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The Bible is not a buffet though. Oh you can lock onto and memorize bits and pieces of scripture that speaks to you but remember that scripture has a beginning and an end. That scripture is just a small part of the whole enchilada, so to speak.
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In other words, it doesn’t work if you just try to get platefuls of only, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” - James 1:5 – NLT because in that same scoop of James 1:5 is James 1:6-8 “But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” You don’t get verse 5 without verse 6-8. It’s a package deal, impossible to separate. There is no “…Ask and He will give it to you” without the “…Be sure your faith is in God alone.” The two go together like, ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong.
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The Bible isn’t a buffet, it’s a heaping plateful of everything that you need. Some of it, you would’ve gladly dished up yourself, some of it you’d never dream of putting on your plate but it all fits together perfectly. And take heart in knowing who it was prepared by. It wasn’t prepared by some hormonal teenager, who forgot to wash his hands and put on his hairnet. It was prepared by God Himself. The God that LOVES you. The God who gave the ULTIMATE sacrifice for you.
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When it comes to The Bible we can’t treat it like a buffet. We can’t just pick and choose and we can’t put our own amendments on it either. We as Christians have to accept it as the plateful of everything that we need. Yep, even the green stuff that doesn’t always look appetizing on the surface. God knows us better than we know ourselves and He prepared this meal just for us.
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So dig in.
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