The Cracked Acorn: Food

If you haven’t noticed, times have really changed in many ways. One big change is with food. I did not realize this till I watched one of the hour FOOD series on PBS.

I am farm-raised, and I remember that my mother prepared three big meals a day. When we retired at night, all those calories, fats, and sugars had been burned up to fill a full day of farming activities. Every meal started with my father saying “grace,” and then there were occasional reminders: never take more than you can eat, don’t eat so fast- chew slowly, don’t try to talk with your mouth full, don’t interrupt the adults, save room for dessert and ask for permission to leave the table. Our summer fare was usually iced tea, beans, fried chicken, and cornbread.

Today, Americans live in a mobile society. Breakfast and lunch can be taken “on the run” and eaten in the car. You could have the “enormous breakfast omelet” and later the double whopper, and at the evening meal, try the all-u-can-eat COUNTRY COOKIN’(now closed).

Our nation is paying the price for fast food and convenience. Doctors warn us that the life expectancy rate could spiral down in the coming years, too much of a good thing?

When Jesus was among us, people ate mostly cereal grains with some fish. The wealthy had access to different meats and baked bread. The Romans had ice houses to preserve some items for several weeks and were probably the first to eat out a lot.

Apartments were small and did not have kitchens. Food was available from many shops. The Egyptians may have fared even better due to the fertile areas along the Nile River. Dates, fruits, and gardens supplied much of the common food consumed by the general population.

These societies had to endure bad crop years, famine, locusts, thieves, and even starvation. This happened in Genesis 41:53, where Joseph became Pharaoh’s man to store grain and stave off Egypt’s bad years of famine. This was all part of God’s plan to save Joseph and his brethren.

When the children of Israel left the bondage of Egypt, they depended upon the LORD to provide their food. (Exodus 16:15-). The book of Leviticus provided the Israelites with the dietary laws necessary to give them good health on their journey to the land “flowing with milk and honey.” It is interesting to note that pork was not on the list for many reasons. Seth was an Egyptian god that took the form of a black pig. God’s people had been immersed in this idol-worshipping society for hundreds of years and did not need any reminders.

Meat was difficult to come by in Paul’s time and usually came from the temples from offerings made to idols. This was one of the rare times that poor people could purchase this meat. Paul in
Romans 14 plainly states that brethren were not to look down upon those who were trying to feed their families the best they could.

LAST: A man rushed into a restaurant and sat down and asked for a menu, when given one, he looked at it and said, “Yes!” and handed it back.