Don’t Give Them the Scraps
Love Your Neighbor With Your Best Food
There is dignity in good work. When you perform your best, the world is better for it. The world we are in thrives on excellence, whether it appears that way or not. It is a rarity nowadays, but where there is excellence there is recognition and the betterment of others.
This can be said of food. When we think of food and excellence, it is easy to recall the best cooks we know. Growing up, whenever we had to bring a dish to a function, my mother would be concerned whether or not it was cooked right, if it were hot or cold, if there was enough, if it tasted right, if it was presented nicely. This comes from a passed down common understanding that what you give your neighbor should be your best. Whenever someone dies, you don’t give their family a recipe from the back of the book. You give them the most comforting and heart-felt dish you can muster. Condolences are a dish worst served cold.
Giving someone your worst displays how much value you place upon them. If the Lord Jesus were to be coming to your home tonight, would your diligence improve and the meal look more like Thanksgiving Day? If so, then why not do the same for those who are in Christ? What is done to the least of these is done to Him (Matthew 25:45). The communion of saints is strengthened more through a multi-generational chocolate cake recipe than anything that comes from a box and plastic wrapping.
Christian love can be felt in your stomach. If there are some cold, distant members in your congregation that you desire good fellowship with, then try loving them with a slice of vanilla cheesecake topped with chocolate sauce. This provides a way for walls to be toppled, extends an open hand, and sparks a conversation. The social creatures that we are love to talk about food. We all still fall to the Trojan horse of food. This gives way for a deep connection through each’s family tree and recipes. Gaps are closed, relationships are started, stomaches are filled.
The world is dying for your best recipe. It wants better food to savor. So pull your shoulders back, turn on the flame, and give it your best, and remember to be patient. Patience in the pursuit of excellence is the surest way to get there. But above all else, do it with a hearty love.