It is better to eat soup with someone you love than steak with someone you hate. —PROVERBS 15:17 (TLB)
Anyone who says the Bible is irrelevant probably hasn’t read it. At least they haven’t read Proverbs. It’s loaded with good advice and amazingly accurate observations on life. I read the one above not long ago, and it immediately reminded me of an experience I’d had at work.
Newly employed at my daughter Maria’s school, I was required to attend the employees’ retreat before school started. I enjoyed getting to know the other new people, as well as the teachers and staff whom I’d known only in my role as a parent. We shared a lot of laughs, especially in the relaxed atmosphere of mealtimes. About a week later a few of us were talking about the retreat at lunch and a teacher who hadn’t attended asked, “How was the food?” The woman next to me and I answered simultaneously, only she said “Awful!” and I said, “Great!”
Everyone laughed, and later I thought about why I answered as I did. The food wasn’t great, but I was focused on the good company; maybe that actually made the food taste better.
Food is a gift from God to nourish my body, not to entertain me. Realizing this in recent years has made me a healthier, happier person. God’s better gift is His people—their stories, their laughter, their love in my life. They make soup taste like steak and always make me return to them for seconds.
Dear God, bless my food, but bless my friends more.
