Today, I enjoyed an extremely unhealthy cheeseburger at a fast food establishment. It wasn’t organic…..it wasn’t supporting local farmers and family business…it had preservatives in it and the proceeds did not benefit a charity…it was simply a greasy cheeseburger…..and I needed it. Don’t judge me. You don’t know my life…..
Anyway….I ordered this meal and requested the smallest size they had when they asked for my drink size preference. We have all been to this place, which surprisingly has served more people than actually exist in the world. The smallest size they had was a “medium”. When I got my food, I was astonished at how large the medium was…There had to be some mistake. The cup was so big that it made me slightly nervous.
As anyone else does, I took my tray and proceeded to the drink fountain where I made plans to enjoy a tall lemonade. After my drink was full I reached over to grab a lid…then I discovered something interesting. My cup actually was a large. I needed a large lid.
This happens all the time. No matter how may times I ask for the smallest size, I get the largest possible one. I am not complaining, but as I thought of this concept I began to think about the direction of our culture. Now, “small” isn’t even an option. Why? Perhaps, it is because we have conditioned ourselves to never be satisfied. We want a drink that we can guzzle in excess and refill on our way out. We want this drink to last all day until we are on our way home from work, so that we can be content until the next day when we repeat the process. As a culture, we have left no room to feel disappointment and a sense of loss.
Look in the Old Testament and you will see an Israelite people that begged God for abundance in the wilderness. He didn’t give it to them at first. Why? Because they had what they needed….and the only reason they wanted more is so they didn’t have to spend the energy to come to Him daily for provision.
Don’t get me wrong. I love cheesburgers. I love large cheeseburgers. I just think God cares more about enough than He does about excess. This is because, when we rely on excess, we forget that life is meant to be lived in the midst of a healthy amount of uncertainty. Our faith grows in this condition. We also begin to find contentment in God’s presence instead of only God’s provision.
This post was written by Rev DeCrastos. For the original post, go to: http://other-words.net/2014/01/24/the-tyranny-of-more/
Anyway….I ordered this meal and requested the smallest size they had when they asked for my drink size preference. We have all been to this place, which surprisingly has served more people than actually exist in the world. The smallest size they had was a “medium”. When I got my food, I was astonished at how large the medium was…There had to be some mistake. The cup was so big that it made me slightly nervous.
As anyone else does, I took my tray and proceeded to the drink fountain where I made plans to enjoy a tall lemonade. After my drink was full I reached over to grab a lid…then I discovered something interesting. My cup actually was a large. I needed a large lid.
This happens all the time. No matter how may times I ask for the smallest size, I get the largest possible one. I am not complaining, but as I thought of this concept I began to think about the direction of our culture. Now, “small” isn’t even an option. Why? Perhaps, it is because we have conditioned ourselves to never be satisfied. We want a drink that we can guzzle in excess and refill on our way out. We want this drink to last all day until we are on our way home from work, so that we can be content until the next day when we repeat the process. As a culture, we have left no room to feel disappointment and a sense of loss.
Look in the Old Testament and you will see an Israelite people that begged God for abundance in the wilderness. He didn’t give it to them at first. Why? Because they had what they needed….and the only reason they wanted more is so they didn’t have to spend the energy to come to Him daily for provision.
Don’t get me wrong. I love cheesburgers. I love large cheeseburgers. I just think God cares more about enough than He does about excess. This is because, when we rely on excess, we forget that life is meant to be lived in the midst of a healthy amount of uncertainty. Our faith grows in this condition. We also begin to find contentment in God’s presence instead of only God’s provision.
This post was written by Rev DeCrastos. For the original post, go to: http://other-words.net/2014/01/24/the-tyranny-of-more/
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