by Jill Conner Browne
The Holy Bible is, to me, an Infinite Source of comfort, inspiration, guidance and direction. I have heard it said, and I cannot argue, that one can find the answers to pretty much any and all of Life’s Quandaries in the Book of Proverbs.
For the last several years, my dear friend Blanche and I have shared morning devotions via Ma Bell, since we live many hundreds of miles apart. We read from seven different book each day, and we are continually astounded at how incredibly spot on the Scriptures and messages will be for whatever issues we might be struggling with on a given day – to the point that we have frequently wondered aloud if the pages didn’t somehow REARRANGE themselves in the night so as to present us with the exact right message come morning.
One issue that Blanche and I – along with the rest of the womankind – think about, talk about, obsess and agonize over is food, specifically, What We Just Ate; What We Are About to Eat; What We Might Have to Eat Later On; and, then, eventually, Where All That Food Ended Up and the Effect of That on Our Wardrobes and Dispositions. The eating parts are always pleasant and entertaining – the ever-tightening waistbands and resulting crabbiness, not so much.
Then, as we had come to expect, we found yet another Life Answer in the Bible. Oh, Happy, Happy Day, indeed, when we discovered Nehemiah 8:10 “Go your way, EAT THE FAT, DRINK THE SWEET and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared.”
We felt that the doors to the smorgasbord had just been flung open – we had been welcomed in to the feast – and it was NOT the salad bar. We laughed and joked, but then we pondered the words, further focusing more on the latter part about making sure that EVERYBODY got some. The fact that “those for whom nothing is prepared” are not likely to be close by and handy, we might have to WALK A-WAYS to make sure that ALL were fed. As a matter of fact, if I were to walk and carry food to the nearest homeless shelter every time I over-ate, I can guarantee you, I would NOT have a weight problem. We attempted the feeble argument that is said “SEND” food to the needy – it didn’t actually SAY that we should personally “TAKE” it. We have so far been unsuccessful in finding any Scripture to support US designating OTHERS to do God’s Work.
Funny think about God: He really only looks for individuals who are willing to do His Work. He just doesn’t ever appear to be interviewing applicants for “Supervisor.”