Why is it that, even after so many years, the belief that we must ask the Lord to "please bless this food that it will nourishenstrenthenareboddies" lives on? For so long has the irony of this vain repetition been brought to our attention that I have actually had the audacity to believe that most people would start to question the purpose of the phrase in order to find the appropriate meaning and thus restore purpose to the prayer and remove the impotence.
*Microsoft Word just told me that the previous sentence was too long and I should consider revising. Not gonna. Just read it again if you need to.
While I have noted some change generally, too many infractions persist. And, since the solution is so easy - found in this very blog post (yes, I am so bold) - I am convinced that such violations could be smothered out in one year's time.
You may think "but we have to bless the food."
In a manner of speaking, I agree. But please allow me to change the perspective.
We have to acknowledge God and be grateful for the food. That is the action of "blessing the food."
Do you realize how fortunate you are to eat? Do you? DO YOU?
That whole some-kid-in-some-third-world-country-is-starving bit that your mother used to say isn't just a saying. You actually ARE so very fortunate to have whatever you have, because the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away (Job 1:21).
If you realize this, then your heart can begin to swell with gratitude for the Lord's kindness and recognition of His mercy so prevalent in your life (say, for example, at least three times a day, or in the case of Leah, who refuses to conform to our bad standard, 5 times).
You will then realize the importance of saying a prayer before eating, and that the sincere and earnest praise "I thank thee, O Lord, to have this" is all the blessing that food needs, because it's what the Lord wants from you - your recognition of His hand in all things.
"And [Jesus] took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled" (Matt. 15:36-37).
That food will be blessed to your "nourishenstrenth" because of your very attitude towards it and your recognition of its ultimate source.
So, next time you're about to take a bite and you realize you haven't "blessed the food yet," remember that closing your eyes and saying a robotic phrase does nothing more for your nourishment and strength than does buying a gym membership during the first week of January. Because even after you mutter, you still haven't blessed the food. And you won't. Not until you're truly grateful.
It especially bothers me when people bless things like brownies to nourish and strengthen us. If the food you have chosen is nourishing food, why would you ask for it to nourish you? It's going to. If you have chosen to partake in junk food, why would you ask for it to nourish you? If you want nourishment, choose something else. I don't think most Americans actually hope for nourishment and strength when they choose foods anyway. Maybe a more appropriate request would be for the food to appeal to our tastebuds just enough so that we eat appropriate amounts...haha. But I usually just give thanks and occasionally ask for some sort of blessing, like bless the person who took the time to make it (because man, cooking can take a lot of time!). I think the important thing is to think about whether what your praying for makes sense and whether you're asking for blessings you even care about. I used to just bless the food though, before I got to thinking about it...which I believe was initiated by reading someone else's blog post on this same subject.
ReplyDelete