Soup de Jour
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works Hebrews 10:24
Some restaurants are known for a specialty soup like Trappe Tavern has outstanding French onion soup and Chick-fil-A has the best chicken tortilla soup in the winter season. I go to those places for their famed specialties.
Restaurants do not just decide one morning at 10 AM that their soup for the day will be some new tantalizing flavor they read about the night before. It takes planning, practice, produce and specific spices to turn it into an unforgettable meal.
My grandmother, Emily, was beyond good in the kitchen. I once asked her why everything tasted so yummy. She told me, “Cooking is an act of love. First you have to love the people you’re serving and love the ingredients yourself.” It didn’t make much sense as a kid but as a grandmother, it is quite true.
I think we often tend to serve a mood de jour. Without notice, it comes out of frustration, from circumstances out of our control, being overly tired and whatever else you want to add. We snap at others (especially loved ones), avoid those that care about us, and make excuses for not showing up for life.
It would all be much simpler if we could just sprinkle some sweet seasonings on our mood and change the putrid flavor. We are not the only ones that suffer from mood de jour. Not to be gross, but it’s almost like we belch in their faces and that disgusting stench gets all over them.
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Colossians 4:6
The best recipes and remedies for this tasteless stuff are found throughout the Bible. When we are bland and tasteless, we have little value. That is why we must stay seasoned with God’s word.
You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. Matthew 5:13
The next time you dine out, think about what went into their soup de jour. Then ask yourself what you’re going to serve others.
Loving Lord, thank You for seasoning us with Your love. Help us to be considerate of others and always serve them with kindness. AMEN.