Scripture A’ la carte

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching,

but having itching ears will gather teachers to serve their own liking.”

2 Timothy 4:3

          There are two ways to eat.  The first is to pick and choose off of a menu or buffet those morsels that please your eye and tongue. That is called a’ la carte, French for off the card or menu.  The second is Table d'hôte or “table of the host” which means you eat what is put on your plate.  I’ve always preferred the former, but my mother had strong views about the latter.

          Mom always knew that left to my own devices, I would crash the dessert cart and ignore the vegetables.  So, there were dining room rules designed to guarantee my good health:  No vegetables – No dessert.

          God’s Word is designed to provide a balanced spiritual diet, but we often avoid the difficult or challenging parts, and proceed directly to the verses that promise comfort and hope.  Commandments that seem to restrict our freedom definitely fall into the broccoli column.

          The Apostle Paul recognized our tendency to pick and choose those spiritual tidbits we like and to ignore the rest.  So, he warned against such a' la carte spirituality.  Those with “itching” ears tend to wander away from the truth and toward the dessert cart.  God gave us guidance for living that demands discipline as well as devotion.  Good health of body and soul demands a balanced diet. 

Lord, we thank you for your Word given to guide and strengthen. Keep us from the temptation to pick and choose, but rather recieve all that you have given.  Amen