Read
–6–
1When you are invited
to eat with a king,
use your best manners.
2Don't go and stuff yourself!
That would be just the same
as cutting your throat.
3Don't be greedy for all
of that fancy food!
It may not be so tasty.
Reflect
We live in a prestige obsessed culture. Popularity and power dominate from high school hallways to reality TV. The daily news and our political processes are saturated contests of prestige. Sports figures, movie stars, politicians, TV commentators are the daily focus. Even in the grocery store checkout line the magazine racks push food and fame.
Ever notice how these food and power relations are tied up in funny ways? Food is a biological necessity. And it forms the lubricant of multiple social interactions. Much of the dramatic arc in movies circles around food and power. Contracts are made and broken over meals. Weddings, business proposals and family quarrels flare at the table. The kitchen, the restaurant, even the grocery store are favorite settings for fanning the flames of romance or jealousy. And no historical film is complete without a banquet and a ballroom.
The proverb today has this other-worldly feeling to it. I have never been invited to a royal dinner, nor likely have you. But the allure of power and prestige transcends this social class. We may not be like the younger brother Edmund in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, riding with the White Witch Queen of Narnia. And Turkish delight might not turn our head. But appetite is a powerful force. Combine it with a person in authority and it can turn our heads. Food and fancies go hand in hand with status and privilege. So the old advice does apply. Give some thought to who you serve, before the meal is on the table.
Respond
Faithful Father, help us see you at work today in the lives of our peers, friends and family. Remind us who we are, and to whom we belong. Keep us from the impulses of greed and raw desire. Give us wisdom to see where true delight resides, in Jesus name, Amen.
John Wood
Dr. Wood is Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at The King's University and Dean of the Natural Sciences Faculty. His research is on urban ecology, campus sustainability and food insects. John was born in Japan, grew up on a clear-cut in western Washington State and attended North Park University in Chicago. He has written and spoken widely on caring for creation to church and campus groups. His recent publications include: How Then Shall We Eat? Insect-Eating Attitudes and Sustainable Foodways; Stewarding the gift of land: Christian campuses as land management models; and Sustainable Missions: Ethical Principles for Holistic Practice in a Broken World.