God Loves a Cheerful Eater


2nd Cor. 9:6-7

6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully[a] will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Today, I walked to a new restaurant in Lancaster City. It is a Haitian place. Above is the pork, plantains, and potato plate. Good home Caribbean, which is appropriate cuisine these days because Lancaster is feeling like the tropics. I swear we are in monsoon season.

I walked through the city for around a mile to get there because I wanted to also check out some houses for sale. If I can do it without too much stress and expense, all things being equal, I would prefer being out of the 'burbs. I came into the restaurant sweating like a hog and then wiped my face with a napkin which shredded it on my stubble and then flaked off my face like flurries. GQ, I know.

Friends of mine accuse me of being a "Foodie" which makes me feel like I should also be a Lib, Blue Stater, Cork-Sniffer, and a modern-day Aristocrat. None of which I am. True, I love food but there is a very important caveat. I like good feed cheap. Not some $150 dinner for two ridiculousness. Almost profane except for special occasions.

The Foodie charge must come from all of my posts of picture of food on Facebook. But, there is a reason why I do this--and it has nothing to do with trying to one up someone on a culinary scale, "My posts are yummier than yours." I want to get the word out. And there is another underlying ingredient of me putting money where my mouth is: Empowerment. Many of the eateries I frequent are ethnic, family-owned and operated, and local. Not some chain restaurant clone, cranking out the crap and commercials. Nachos, Wings, Burgers?

Keeping dollars in the community is the best way to prosper a city and it gives good work to the proprietors and their employees, as well a sense of legitimate pride of preparing delicious food for clientele. Hopefully, some of the customers are not from the same ethnic group. I know that it does not look like a ministry of the mouth, but I do kind of see it that way. The good will that is engendered by embracing others' culture and literally taking it in as food has to do something beneficial to a community body as a whole. And, we often do a lot of good by directing our dollars to those who are trying to make their way up the ladder of success.

I agree that I am not suffering but since when is service always sacrificial to the point of severe pain? Somehow doing good and feeling bad while doing it seems to be a prevailing martyr model of ministry. I am miserable therefore I must be in God's will. If you can't do something cheerfully, either repent of a bad attitude or don't do it. Guilt and the Gospel don't belong in the same dish.

    

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