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To Cook Or Not to Cook -- That Is The Question…
Good advice from a well respected person, an Elder, in God's true Church where members keep the Sabbath and His Holy Days is what was on my mind between the Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost this year. Those with God's Holy Spirit genuinely desire to show God their dedication through offerings of love, respect, awe, devotion, sacrifice, and obedience by keeping the Sabbath day holy, as it is holy time set aside for us to worship our Creator. We draw closer to Him in meaningful prayer and in humble respectful communication, and by studying His Word in the Holy Bible, by attending the weekly Sabbath service, and by being with others of like-mind as we enjoy the blessings in unity with edification of speech to share amongst loving brethren as we eagerly fellowship. We know that we know that we have God's way of life firmly embedded in our hearts and minds to actively grow in complete surrender and service to God while producing fruit, all because God has blessed us and we have responded accordingly by keeping His 10 Commandments which the apostle John points out is how we know that we love God.
So what was his good advice? Simply put -- we will never please everyone all of the time so instead of having pleasing others as an unbalanced part of our focus, we should be accountable to God for how we live our lives and not worry about what others may think as we are not to be people pleasers. Scripture in Galatians 1:10 from the apostle Paul is valuable advice too on this topic. Realistically, this may be known to all of us, however it is very easy to fall back into old habits, therefore a loving reminder about placing God first in all matters was both welcomed and needed.
Brethren will not always agree on spiritual matters despite having God's Spirit as some allow His Spirit to lead them, while others may some of the time but perhaps not always, and then there are those who are the tares amongst the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30). Intellectually we know this to be true but it is at times difficult to understand why some cannot see what we may see in the Bible -- for example some eat out in restaurants on the Sabbath while others do not. We all believe that we are rightly dividing God's Word and realise we need to be humble and teachable. As long as our speech is delivered after thoughtful consideration and in a loving manner, then we can agree to disagree without causing offence. Our goal is to have iron sharpen iron (Proverbs 27:17) while we develop healthy relationships between one another in our spiritual family.
It is far easier not to care or face up to challenges, to avoid confrontational situations, to just go about our business and attend each week wanting to be quiet and almost invisible in order to promote a peaceful existence, that way we are promoting unity -- right? It's not as simplistic as this nor is it the full story, and Christ certainly did not do this. We are meant to engage and develop relationships -- not fly under the radar or avoid situations where growth is required. We do not want to "rock the boat" but at the same time desire to be true to our conscience. Wrestling with my thoughts I tell myself "not everyone is at the same stage in their Christian walk", and yes, this is true. Then I remind myself we all have free will and that is a gift from God and how things are meant to be.
We all keep the Sabbath with differences such as some watch TV while others do not, yet we all believe we are doing the right thing. These are all personal choices. Why does one person have such an issue with their conscience on a particular issue while another does not? This mystifies me especially when the differences are so varied and in some cases completely opposite. Examining our intentions of why we do what we do is a continual process. For me TV and restaurants are not a weakness or temptation, they are simply worldly things best kept for any day except the Sabbath and high holy days as these are to be set apart distinctly. Does TV honestly come anywhere close or near to the joy and pleasure of reading our Bible? I don't think any of God's firstfruits will be watching TV on the Sabbath in His Kingdom or going out to eat in restaurants as all will be keeping the Sabbath in service to others with an outward focus. There will be nobody to serve you as restaurants will be closed. However it would be feasible to meet and enjoy a simple picnic meal outside in God's creation in addition to worshipping God. Sounds absolutely wonderful, does it not?
God's children are all on a lifelong heartfelt quest to learn from God about the Bible in order to do exactly as He says so as to please Him through faithful obedience. It isn't about what we may think or what makes us feel good. While this supernaturally inspired book written for us is all there in black and white to behold and be devoured by our thirsty eyes, hearts and minds, we know that it is even more profound than that therefore we must take notice of the written word as well as what is not written, what is bound by culture and time, what is "between the lines" or not so obvious, and also notice what is repeated for emphasis always making use of Godly wisdom when using scripture to interpret scripture. Understanding the context as well as keeping it simple each time is the best policy. Reading, listening, absorbing, taking it in through digesting after each tasty morsel is consumed is our aim. Otherwise it is just head knowledge.
Does it really matter what we say or do? Yes it does -- just ask Moses! Well eventually we will. Remember when Moses was asked, on two separate occasions, to supply water to the thirsty, disgruntled Israelites in the wilderness and looked to God both times for help? Numbers 20 documents these occasions well. On the first occasion Moses was instructed to strike the rock, and did exactly what God told him to do, but on the second account Moses struck the rock twice rather than speak to it on that occasion, thereby ignoring God's instruction. The difference of just one word -- strike as opposed to speak. Did Moses get confused as he was very old? Was he paying attention? Was he fed up with the people complaining? The Bible reveals that Moses was the most humble man in his time (Numbers 12:3) and was driven to his limits -- his human nature overtook his usual self control and he ended up with no control as he lost his temper and focus rather than trusting in God. Do we do that too? Do we take too much upon ourselves rather than trust God? It cost Moses entry into the Promised Land. What will our disobedience cost us? We can all learn from the valuable example of Moses in order to resolve and determine to finish well especially when under extreme stress in stressful times because these are coming soon and are certainly prophesied in the Bible to come.
Scripture reveals that we will all be accountable for every single word that comes out of our mouths, and every deed we engage in (Matthew 12:36-37 and Ecclesiastes 12:14). Remember that we are to take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). It is not about our will even though we possess free will and we make many inconsequential choices each and every day. How about the choices we make on the Sabbath day? Do we give every thought, word and action to God by lining up with His instructions on how He would like to be worshipped? Or do we just do what comes naturally or is familiar, or try to please others and do what they do because we see they are doing it? Bowing to pressure some might say. It might be high time to examine with a fine tooth comb our practices and root out those that do not line up with God's instructions.
At the end of the day all that matters is pleasing our heavenly Father. His way is so brilliant, so full of blessings and joy when we listen carefully to what God says and do what He asks. We must fervently endeavour to do all that He commands by paying close attention to the whole of the Bible. Lately, the words ringing in my ears belong to those Israelites wandering about in the wilderness while seeking the Promised Land, repeatedly telling God "we will do all that you say" -- but did they? Sadly no they did not and they even engaged in spiritual harlotry (Exodus 19:8, Deuteronomy 5:27, Joshua 24:24). In Numbers 14:11 God asks Moses how long will the people reject Him even after demonstrating His faithfulness over and over again. Yet we know that the people continued to complain and murmur each time there was a challenge. The Lord states in Numbers 14:22, “...and yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice" which sums up the repetitive disobedience of the Israelites. We must heed these lessons and determine in our hearts to obey God no matter what happens.
One curious practice that confounds me is that some think it is alright to cook on the Sabbath whereas try as I might to prove scripture this way, I simply cannot. Oh how easy it would be to just fall into line with everyone else who eats out and cooks on the Sabbath. Heating up food in a microwave does not bother my conscience if the food is already cooked. Could I be missing or overlooking something here? Exodus 16 seems very clear to me, that we are to cook by baking or boiling what we have on the day before the Sabbath in line with when the Israelites collected double the portion of manna out in the fields to set some aside for the next day. Instructions are to lay over part of this cooked food for the Sabbath to enjoy then, for the Bible says to eat it the following morning but it does not say to cook it on the Sabbath, just set it aside already prepared and cooked the day before. Here is the precise scripture in Exodus 16:22-26 "And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’" So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” If we were meant to cook on the Sabbath, surely God would have said but He implied that we were not to. Similarly, with shopping for supplies to be done, any and every other day as we have need, but just not on the Sabbath. Is this another instance where God sees our choices based on how closely we pay attention to His instructions and whether we are taking the time to prove all things for ourselves by carefully meditating on His Word?
Our God is precise, deliberate in all He does with perfect planning therefore there is great purpose to His instructions. Could it be that He wants us to devote the Sabbath to the more important matters just like Jesus told Martha to be more like Mary -- to sit and listen rather than be fluffing about doing much in the kitchen when all that matters is the spiritual food? Christ kept things simple and plucked heads of grain from the field with the apostles as they were hungry when they passed through on the Sabbath (Matthew 12, Mark 2, Luke 6). This was lawful as in Deuteronomy 23:25. It really is a delight for us to have a rest from kitchen duties and it surely sets the Sabbath apart from the rest of the week when cooking is a routinely daily occurrence. There is even scripture that tells us it is fine to cook on the first and last days of unleavened bread as we are sharing these meals with brethren on high holy days (Exodus 12:16). Notice that God says the food is to be prepared by our own hands. That to me is also very important as it means we will know exactly all the ingredients that make up the dish with no threat of yeast or leavening agents being added.
If one's conscience is not at peace in regard to cooking or eating out on the Sabbath then there must be a reason to it as I know I would rather be the same as everyone else and "go with the flow". However there is a greater desire, an undeniably strong pull, yet not an overwhelming force to be led by God's Spirit to please Him rather than man. God does not force us but He wants us to become His loving children who completely desire full obedience as if nothing else in the world matters enough to change our priorities. Are we there yet? Isaiah 58:13-14 says "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honourable, and shall honour Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”