Why I Don’t Like Fast Food Restaurants

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“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary,who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'” Luke 10:38-40

My husband, daughter and I were out to eat the other week at a fast food restaurant. We were almost done with our meal and my husband could tell I was a bit dissatisfied. As I wrinkled my nose, he knew my issue. He said it before I could. “You don’t like how fast everything is going and wish we had talked more.”

YES! Of course I do. That’s why I go out to eat!

I don’t go out to eat to get out of cooking. I love to cook. I love the event of cooking and serving my family a meal they will enjoy.

I go out to eat to spend time with my family: intentional, uninterrupted, undistracted time connecting with those I care about. We are going different directions all day, maybe all night and once in a while we have time to be together. The last thing I want to do is rush through any of it.

Truth be told, I love fast food restaurants. I enjoy the food, the convenience and the price. If you want to win my heart, give me the perfectly prepared French fry and a thick, creamy ice cream treat.

So with all of this said, what’s the real point of this post? What does this have to do with my faith?

As I think about my dissatisfaction with our recent dining experience, I realize that it applies to how I spend time with God as well. Am I rushing at convenient times to get my quick fix of prayer or worship music just so I can check it off my list and get on to the next thing, the next distraction? Or do I take time to sit down with God and wait, savoring every minute with Him?

As I enter my time with Him, here are two things I want to consider in my time with Him.

1. Am I making an effort to unplug and rest?

Just like my family relationships, I need to take time to unplug from the world and settle into my time with God. If I approach God with a timer so I can easily check Him of a to-do list, I’ve missed the point of my time with Him. In Christ, I find rest.

Do you get run-down and weary from your busy schedule? Do you create space in your schedule to refocus your mind on Christ? The more time we spend distracted by the world, the less time we have to simply rest in the presence of God.

2. Am I making an effort to connect and invest?

So once I settle in God’s presence with the distractions of the world somewhere in the distance, I can let Him fill the places left by those distractions and offer me something of true value. He may bring to mind something He’s placed on my heart and He wants to encourage me to move forward in it. He may show me an area of struggle or sin in my life and He wants to help me get rid of it. He also wants to hear about my cares and concerns and comfort me through the challenges I’m facing. This all takes a bit of time.

Can it be done here and there throughout your day? Yes, God is always available and we are to be praying, in communication with God, without ceasing. But something happens when we take time to not just acknowledge a relationship but savor it. Do you feel like you’re an acquaintance of God or are you in a deeply committed relationship with Him? How do you know? Do you do all the talking or do you take time to listen? Do you simply agree with God or do you want to understand why it matters to Him? Do you like to see and hear about what He’s doing or do you want to participate in what He’s doing?

“’Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'” Luke 10:41-42

He can’t be a quick stop on the way to the next thing. He has to be the focus. He is the only One who matters.

Growing Pains

“God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do.” Ephesians 4:15 (The Message)

When my children were younger, I was constantly measuring their growth: height, weight, and abilities. Can she crawl, sit or walk? Does she respond to her name? Does she stack the blocks or just consider them a no-calorie snack? If their mental attributes along with their physical attributes don’t change, they aren’t growing in a complete manner.

Growth can be a challenge. All growth is the result of action and we must be diligent and intentional about the type of actions we take. Even a baby doesn’t just grow. If they are not receiving enough food, they won’t grow physically or mentally and if deprived of food for a long enough period will die.

Spiritual growth is the same. I’ve known a few people who really wanted to grow or at least thought they did. What it seems they may have wanted more was to continue doing what they had always done, but somehow manage to have peace and feel good about it. But nothing that grows stays the same. There will be changes. To ignore or deny the truth of what is needed for growth will only bring about death. The truth of Jesus is the source of eternal life.

Spiritual growth begins with knowing the truth about Jesus. You hear about Him, ask questions, learn some more and eventually have enough information to make a decision about what the truth of Jesus means to you and for you. If you are not seeking to know the truth, if you are not asking questions of people who know the truth, you will not grow in your understanding of who Jesus really is and you will have no reason to move forward in a relationship with Him. The problem with this is that everything else you consider about Him will be false. Just like eating protein will add muscle and eating sugar will add fat, growing in the knowledge and truth of Jesus will lead you to eternal life while ignoring or denying the truth of Jesus will lead to eternal separation from God. False teachings will lead to a false understanding which in turn will feed you with empty calories which will not sustain.

One of the growing pains involved with knowing the truth of Jesus is that we soon realize there are things we like, think or do that are not actually good for us. They seem good because they make us feel good and give us some enjoyment, at least for the moment. We don’t want to give it up because we don’t really want to believe it’s bad. Maybe it’s easier than changing. We operate out of our feelings rather than facts. We live for what seems good rather than what is truly good.

When my daughter was three years old, we could tell she wasn’t eating well. We pulled out our Dr. Spock baby book and did some research. We wanted to know answers and the truth about what might be causing this problem and what we could do about it. We learned too much sugar would ruin her appetite. Right away we knew the problem: apple juice. She loved apple juice! But the juice was hurting her, not helping her even though she enjoyed it. We promptly removed the apple juice from her diet and replaced it with water or milk only. For three days she cried! Each day was a little better until rather than cry over not getting apple juice, she asked for milk. Her eating improved and she chose milk over almost every other beverage for most of her childhood.

But those three days were painful. She wanted what she wanted and was willing to forsake the good thing for the enjoyable thing…until she realized the good thing was better.

Something to Consider…

Do you struggle believing the entire Bible is true? Does it contradict what you’ve been told is true? Is it difficult to understand how God’s ways are better than your ways, how they are truly the best way?

“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—” 2 Peter 2:2 (ESV)

Don’t settle for good enough. Don’t settle for empty satisfaction. God in his goodness sent His Son, Jesus Christ so we would know His grace and truth. You have the opportunity to choose the better thing. The growing pains of faith are real, but the truth of Jesus is better than any lie the world would have you believe. Seek to know and understand His truth and discover the real source of all you need to be able to change and grow up into all He created you to be!