Leftovers

Cold pizza in the morning from the night before. An open face turkey sandwich the day after Thanksgiving. Kung Pao Chicken from yesterday’s lunch? I’m talking about lifesavers when you work late, money savers when you pack your lunch, and instant snacks for the kids after school.

Behold! The great and mighty power of the leftover.

And while we are hailing something, let’s give Perry Spencer, the inventor of the microwave, a hand? One day he was working on building a magnetron for a radar set, and, as he was testing it out, he noticed that the candy bar in his pocket began to melt. Fast forward a half-century later and there is a “leftover heater” in nearly every home in the United States. Thank you, Perry, for the ability to reheat my wife’s famous corn and bacon chowder.

Aren’t leftovers a beautiful thing? This afternoon as I put some barbeque ribs in the broiler that I smoked last weekend. I was busy congratulating myself for the second time for using mesquite wood chips over hickory when I began to think about what happens to so many leftovers. Often their value is unrealized. They go unnoticed and unused in the refrigerator only to be found a week later and quickly discarded.

We tend to treat life a lot like leftovers. Those who consider themselves outsiders or all washed up can sometimes get lost and disregarded. There are some of us whose experiences have set us back and knocked us down. In turn, we find ourselves stuck, unable to reach our potential and feeling hopeless.

I read something the other day that gave great insight to God’s view on the subject. I’ve often wondered what the situation was like on the day that Jesus fed the five thousand. More specifically I have always wanted to know why, out of five thousand people, there was only a small boy who had anything to offer up to Jesus. Were those two fish and five loaves for his family? Or were they a leftover from a meal from earlier in the day? Was this boy on his way home from a market visit commissioned by his mother? Or were those fish just a sample of something more that was caught or sold in the morning?

The big moment in the story happens when Christ gets his hands on the food. Three fish and two loaves were not going to cut it for five thousand people. This minuscule offering from the boy was of no use in the eyes of many. Even the disciples themselves questioned what could be done with these small leftovers. That, however, is always the viewpoint of the finite mind of man. Yet Jesus did something that transcended even that moment and displayed a truth that all of us can learn from today: we are valuable, what we have to offer matters, and even the smallest of gifts can make an impact on many.

“Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds…” Matthew 14:19 NAS

What happened here? Was there a certain process that made the food multiply? Were there instructions that the people had to follow to create provision for everyone? Did the disciples jump up and down and do a multiplication rain dance? No. The answer to the increase of these leftovers was that Christ blessed them.

The connection for you and me today is actually quite simple. On a weekly basis I communicate with friends and family who are discouraged with where they are in life, what they bring to the table, and the fact that they truly feel like a leftover. They feel disappointed from the opportunities that have passed them by, the mistakes that have resulted in their present circumstances, and not knowing where their place is. Lately I have been bold in directing them to this story and telling them that God can and will use leftovers. He will use the heartbroken and bruised, the down and defeated.

You see, the key in the story was that Jesus blessed what the young boy gave. He blessed what he HAD, not what he wished he’d had. He supernaturally multiplied the simplest of gifts in what the boy had to offer. This is a beautiful truth. You may be reading this right now thinking that you have nothing more to offer the Lord than a weary heart. If it is one that is willing, guess what? That in itself is enough for God to bless, multiply and use.

Back to the story of the feeding of the five thousand. What was the boy thinking when he approached Jesus with a meager leftover lunch? Was he embarrassed? Did he feel foolish even suggesting it? Did he try to explain why he had only that? Isn’t it both odd and maddening how often we hold back from giving to the Lord unless we are in perfect form and proud of every aspect of life. That’s not at all what I see being used in this story. Instead, I see a humble offering of leftovers in the hands of Christ being blessed and impacting many. I will take it a step further: we don’t know what happened to the boy that brought this offering. But I can make a calculated guess that he was a new person after the experience. When God uses us, we are reenergized. When we see the fruits of our faith, we are encouraged. Why then, would we ever second guess if our offering is worthy?

So here is the challenge for today. No matter where you stand in life or what’s in your basket, offer it up - the Lord will bless it, multiply it and use it for the betterment of others.

Piggy Bank

I never had a regular piggy bank when I was growing up. No way. Not for for me. A porcelain swine peering at me from atop my dresser would have actually kept me from sleeping! My piggy bank was different. It was elite. It was special. My piggy bank was a plexiglass case in the shape of a football adorned with the Washington Redskins logo. I got it as a birthday gift when I was 8 and I monitored its ins and outs daily. I was so fond of that bank that I saved it for my son’s room. It took some time to convince my wife that it had an esthetic value and place in our home.

Speaking of value, my father used to say something quite regularly to me as I was growing up. What he said was a lesson that has been a rudder to many of the choices I have made over time:

“It’s not what you earn, it’s what you spend that matters.”

The key to any savings is to put more in than you take out. Ah, but that’s easier said than done. After all, what child goes to the grocery store with a parent and doesn’t ask repeatedly (I’m talking 17 times in the express line) for that Snickers bar, or in my case, a bag of Sour Patch Kids? For every floor I swept for a quarter, car I washed for a dollar, or lawn I mowed for five, there was always something that I wanted to buy. I remember the pride I felt when I put money into that Redskins bank. It represented hard work, opportunity and a weird sense of power for a young boy. Yet, as hard as it was to fill, it was doubly as easy to spend what was just put in.

In relationships I find the concept of a piggy bank completely applicable. Especially when it comes to our words. Have you ever noticed that you can say a hundred positive things to a spouse and then in one moment of weakness you make a huge withdrawal with a loose comment to deplete all of the good you’d previously “deposited?” Perhaps you’ve started off a relationship with a co-worker on the wrong foot. As a result, you’ve tried to make the situation better by being more positive and supportive. But on that one stressful Monday morning you aren’t as strong and instead of staying focused, you lash out - suddenly, you find yourself in the negative.

James gives us a fair warning in his letter about our tongue:

“It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell” (James 3:5-6 MSG`)

If left unguarded, our tongue will naturally make larger withdrawals than deposits. If left untethered we are, as James says, reckless fire starters.

Withdrawals are tricky. My wife hates it when I talk about the small charges on the debit card. Those quick cups of coffee (don’t get me started on the cost of a grande latte) add up when we least expect it because of the frequency. Small things turn into big things when bought in bulk. Lately, on some of my tough days I’ve found myself taking a lot more from the people I love and care for than I have been putting in. It isn’t intentional, it just happens.

I like what David prays in Psalm 19:14 NIV

“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. “

This is extremely powerful because it puts the heart and the tongue together. It’s a simple yet powerful prayer to heaven, asking and committing to the plan of our thoughts and words, giving God pleasure. Think of it as the great down payment each and every morning. If we make a choice daily to ask for strength and commit to our mouths to God, we have much more of a chance of increasing the balance in our respective bank. If we choose to give our words to God and look to encourage, bless and build others frequently, it will not only give God great pleasure, it will be seed poured into others and ultimately give us a ledger that is in the black. I encourage you today to submit your words to God and make as many positive deposits as you can into the people around you. Take it from my dad – it’s about what you spend, not what you earn.

Hot Dogs

“Here, babe, take a look at this.” she said.

“Nah, that’s ok.” as I stared at the nearly finished Sunday night football game.

“No seriously, you need to read this.” She was handing me her phone.

“Babe, I don’t…trust me.” I quipped. Now, I’m getting annoyed.

“Ha, ha. Come on, this is important. You are going to want to know this.”

“Kristin, I’m telling you, I don’t want to read that. If I read that, I’m going to have to change some things and I’m not doing that ever.”

End of conversation.

We were talking about hot dogs. Yep, hot dogs. Could be the kind you get at the gas station, or the quarter pounders you get from Costco for a buck and a half, or the ones you put on the grill in the back yard on a summer evening. Hot Dogs, an American staple. You see, there had been a new study to come out recently that supposedly linked cancer and various illnesses to hot dogs, bacon and other processed meat. It hit all of the major media outlets as well as caused a huge uproar on social media sites. I say supposedly for two reasons. One, because of the claim the report is making, and, two, because I still have to read the article. As you may have guessed, I still haven’t read and I don’t intend to anytime soon.

I know it sounds hard headed. However, I don’t plan to read this article for one reason and one reason only: If these claims are true about my wonderful frankfurter, I won’t in good conscience be able to buy one the next time I head out to the ballpark. What’s a baseball game at a big league stadium without a hot dog topped with ketchup, mustard and relish? What’s a picnic without a frank with american cheese? The truth in this case does not set me free. It punishes me and makes me go without.

In the books of 2 Chronicles and 2 Kings, there is a story about a young king of Judah who inherits the throne at age eight after his father is assassinated by his closest advisors. For the previous 57 years, this young boy’s father and grandfather had run the kingdom into the ground. From idols, to satanic rituals, to elaborate spending, to sexual promiscuity - the monarchy was in shambles. Then Josiah comes to the throne as an eight year old boy and, by the time he is sixteen, he does something dramatic. The word says that he began to purge all of Judah from the idols that they had put in place. At sixteen!! It was an act of courage. It was a stance for righteousness. It was a move from a true leader. One day as he was rebuilding the temple of the Lord, a scroll was found amidst the rubble and debris . It was a treasure unlike any other and one that changed the course of a nation. The written law of God had been found.

Now, in those times it was customary for this law to be read publicly in front of the people every seven years. But for the previous 240 years there was no record of that being done. The toll of the evil regimes before King Josiah was capped by neglect and disregard for the very thing that could save these people: God’s Law. Yet now, Josiah held it in his hand. For a moment, reflect on what could have been going through his mind.

“Open this and life is going to change.”

“Read this and a new, much tougher standard will have to be met.”

“All that is in here is work that I’m not doing.”

What he does next inspires me.

The bible says that the king was so shaken with conviction that he ripped his clothes and called for all of his closest advisors to immediately carry out a plan of change: He ordered them all: “Go and pray to God for me and for this people—for all Judah! Find out what we must do in response to what is written in this book that has just been found!” 2 Kings 22:12 (MSG)

You see, the truth will set you free IF you apply it to your life. The truth can bring light into dark situations IF it is embraced and received. The sad thing is so many of us are similar to me and my relationship with hot dogs. I DON’T WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH. Because if I know, then I’m forced to change.

2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

I love this because it puts the responsibility on us to “handle“ the word of God correctly. Isn’t it amazing how we fool ourselves into believing that old lie about ignorance being bliss?? It’s just not accurate. God has a desire for us to conform, mold and follow his word with a joy and passion. This means the willingness to change. This means accountability. This means honesty with ones self. Josiah literally changed a nation simply because he saw the truth and altered his and the nation’s ways. Heaven help us all to follow his example and have a desire to change.

So the next time you bite into a hotdog, ask yourself, “Do I want the truth?”.