I grew up on a farm, and most of those years, we had chickens. When we didn’t, at least my grandparents did. So the fried chicken we ate was fresh. But it always had bones. Eatin’ around all those bones is messy. So, if I got a chance, I’d grab the “wishbone” piece. Best meat-to-bone ratio of any piece. I don’t know when boneless chicken started coming around, but it seems like it hasn’t been all that long ago. Maybe it’s just those childhood memories, but chicken nowadays doesn’t compare to that back then. But now, boneless? I’m all for that.
Oh, and boneless fish fillets! Wow! I didn’t like eating fish, ‘cuz sometimes you wouldn’t even see the bones, till they were way in the back of your throat! Ackkk!
Looking back now, I realize that this preference has showed up in my life in many other ways. One of those is “boneless” Bible teaching. When I first got saved, and got the Holy Ghost, I was hungry! So I was devouring not only the Bible, but all kinds of other books and tapes… bones and all. There seemed to be so many authors and preachers with so many different things that seemed good. But when you start getting filled up, you get a little more selective. Like avoiding some pieces that have so many bones in ‘em, it isn’t worth the trouble trying to get the meat off of them. So I started narrowing it down to the “wishbone” pieces. Smart thinkin’.
Then I heard about boneless chicken… or boneless Bible teaching. Now THAT’S the ticket, I thought. What a wonderful thing! No hassle. No mess. Just eat the whole thing! So easy. So safe. I got a hold of some that was labeled 100% pure… zero % bones. This was so good, I cleaned out the refrigerator, and the freezer (or library), and pitched all the stuff that wasn’t 100% boneless.
You know, it’s really quite a comfortable, secure feeling, not having to be concerned about what you’re eating. And for a few years, this boneless teaching seemed to live up to the labeling. If I did run into something that was hard and crunchy, I’d just check the label again… and, yep, it says boneless. And all my friends who were eating the same thing were saying it was boneless, …so I figured that it must be just “strong” meat.
I went on like that for years, until one day, about 13 years ago, I hit a bone that I couldn’t chew, and couldn’t swallow; and I couldn’t just discreetly spit it out and tuck it under the edge of my plate. I was choking. This one was life-threatening. It put my salvation, my eternal life in question. In desperation, I turned to the Great Physician to examine me, and tell me what was wrong with me. He had to open me up, and He showed me a bunch of bones that I had swallowed over the years, that had gotten lodged inside me. So I let Him operate on me, and He cut out a lot more than I could ever have thought necessary… things that were hurting me, and needed to go. But today, by His healing hand, I am alive in the Spirit of God, and stronger than at any time in my life.
I’m also much more careful now. And I’m doing what I should have been doing all along… taking everything to God, the perfect meat inspector; and letting Him separate the meat from the bones. That’s not as easy as it sounds, which is why so few people actually do it. It takes time. It takes effort. It’s really quite a sacrifice, and also very humbling. It’s like, when you take the meat into the inspection room, you have to personally go in there with it. And when He turns on the x-ray to examine the meat, He also examines YOU! That x-ray… God’s holy light… must also penetrate YOU, if you really want to know what’s in the food you’re eating.
I know it’s tempting to just trust the labeling on the package, or the advertising, or your friends’ recommendations. It’s so much easier, and less messy. And it kinda gives you a handy excuse if there are bones or contamination in there. Maybe you could even sue the processor, or the packager, or the store that sold it to you. Well… sorry. No, you can’t. None of those excuses, or attempts to shift the blame, works with God. He holds each and every one of us personally responsible for what we eat, and what we throw in the garbage.
AND, we are accountable to God for how we present it to our brothers and our neighbors… for the claims we make… for the labeling we put on. I would never want to stand before the Judge, and be found guilty, that one of His little ones perished by eating something that I misrepresented as 100% pure. Instead, I am determined to slap His warning labels on, wherever and however He instructs me.
So, until God gives us ‘boneless chicken’… (and I believe He can and will), take everything to the Lord. Be humble. Be honest before God and man. Help yourself to your favorite pieces, but be careful. Don’t eat the bones.
“Prove all things. Hold fast that which is good.” [1 Thessalonians 5:21]
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God…” [1 John 4:1a]
“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” [Hebrews 5:14]
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” [2 Timothy 2:15]
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