I was taught growing up to thank God before every meal. I never asked why I should pray before a meal,
I just did it. But, if I can be honest
with you and if you promise not to judge me, I always felt a little weird about
praying in a restaurant before my meal.
I always thought, “What will people think?”
I discreetly thanked God for my Taco Bell meal and
began eating. While I ate, I watched the
kitchen staff from my booth work hard at their job preparing for the lunch
rush.
Moments later a man walked through the door that
caught my attention.
He was a simple man, a city worker coming in off the
field for his lunch break. The man
appeared to be in his mid 50’s as his hair and gruff on his face had a dash of
grey in it. His skin was rough and pre
maturely wrinkled, clueing me in on his possible position as either being on
the public works or parks and recreation division for the city.
His grey work issued polo was worn out, but it was
evident that the man still found pride in his uniform as he tucked his polo
into his blue jean shorts, and used a brown leather belt to ensure his shirt
would remain in place throughout the work day.
His feet were fitted with a pair of old red wing
boots complimented with a pair of crew high socks that were folded down neatly,
telling me the man was somewhat concerned about his fashion, but not enough to
care about what anyone else thought.
With nothing else to look at, I watched this man
order his food and then sit down at a booth across from me.
I liked this man.
There was a sense of tranquility about him as he went about his meal
preparation that was refreshing to my hectic day. Underneath his arm was the daily sports page
from the local paper he had brought with him.
After setting the paper on the table, he began his routine, preparing
for his lunch. He unfolded his napkin and
laid it across his lap, moved his fork to the right of his tray, and
strategically located his cup to the 1 o’clock position in front of him.
But what he did next was what really stood out to
me. After his meal was setup, this city
worker then folded his hands, placed them on his lap, where his napkin was
resting, slightly bowed his head, and closed his eyes. For the next 20 seconds or so, the man’s
lip’s ever so slightly moved, as he was clearly thanking God for the meal that
was in front of him.
And then, just like that, he opened his eyes, and
began eating, as he read the front page of the newspaper that he brought with
him.
I pondered that scene for the rest of my lunch. That man had a unique relationship with God,
which was incredible to witness. His
prayer and my prayer were radically different.
Let me show you.
Count to five.
Go ahead and do it. My prayer
was, at best was that long. I was eager
to eat, yet in my mind, I was supposed to pray before I ate, therefore not
really giving thanks, but rather climbing through some religious obstacle in
order to get to my meal.
Now count to twenty, go ahead, I’ll wait. I’m not going anywhere…
This was about the length of time this man prayed to
God, giving him thanks for his meal. Let
me ask you something. Who showed more
thanksgiving, more honor, more value in the one who provided the meal?
God, can definitely be pleased with a five second prayer,
but my heart was focused on getting the prayer out of the way so I could get to
the “good stuff”.
I have a hunch that this seasoned man did not see his moment
of thanksgiving as an imposition to him, but an opportunity to give honor to
God. His meal could wait. His meal could get cold, but his prayer could
not wait, and would not be rushed through as he acknowledge God’s love and
goodness to him through the simple act of providing his Taco Bell meal.
Why do we give thanks to God? Because in so doing we honor God. Romans 14:6 says, “The one who observes the
day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the
Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in
honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.”
Thanksgiving is giving honor to God for what he has given
you.
The next time you bow your head to thank God for a meal, or
anything else, understand that the purpose of what you are doing is to honor
God for a brief moment before you indulge into his blessings.
