Recently while eating at a local restaurant I had an interesting experience. I noticed these two men as they came in and were seated at a table nearby. To say these men looked like trouble would be an understatement. The way they were dressed, their hair and beards, and everything about them pointed to drugs or something even more sinister. My mind wandered as I sat there with my wife. Because of my suspicion I kept an eye on them.
The waitress brought our food and shortly thereafter she brought their food to them. What happened next was not what I expected. To my great surprise, they removed their caps, bowed their heads and offered thanks for their food. Needless to say my attitude toward them immediately changed. I was ashamed of my thoughts. I was guilty of judging those men unfairly. I still knew very little about the men but their actions had changed my mindset.
There are so many lessons we could learn from this. We certainly need to be careful when forming opinions based on appearances only. The Bible condemns such judgments in passages like James 2.
1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us that while man looks on the outward appearance, GOD looks on the heart. Looks are often deceiving. We should be very careful when forming first impressions.
For our thoughts today, I would like to consider something else about this story. These men gave thanks for their food. My wife and I did the same thing when our food came. At our family gatherings at home I love to hear my sons and grandsons offer thanks for our food.
But why do we give thanks for our food? I had a friend bring this up recently observing that we don’t pray before other things we do. Actually we should and probably do pray before many things we do. But the question from my friend was, “Why do we pray before we eat?” When did this practice begin? Do we have Scriptural precedence for it?
Indeed we have many Biblical examples to follow.
There are passages in which Jesus prays before eating. Consider the feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew 14 and the feeding of the 4,000 in Matthew 15. In both cases, the Scriptures note that He gave thanks. (Matthew 14:19; 15:36)
Jesus gave thanks for the bread and wine at the Last Supper. (Matthew 26:27)
In writing to the young evangelist Timothy, Paul reminded him that under the New Covenant, there are no foods that are to be considered unclean. Twice in the context, he notes the food is to be received with thanksgiving. (1 Timothy 4:3, 4)
On his journey to Rome, while aboard the ship in the midst of the storm, Paul gave thanks for his food. (Acts 27:35)
Writing to the Romans, Paul noted he gave GOD thanks when he ate. (Romans 14:6)
In 1 Corinthians 10:30, Paul said, “But if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for the food over which I give thanks?”
He then followed in the next verse reminding us that whatever we do, we are to do all to the glory of GOD. When we pray before our meals, we are bringing glory to GOD.
And when we pray before our meals, we are acknowledging GOD as the source of all good things. (James 1:17)
That day in the restaurant, we finished eating before the men. As I left the restaurant, I went by their table and expressed my appreciation for their actions. Without knowing it, they had encouraged me that day and more importantly they had brought honor and glory to our GOD.