Do You Eat Your Peas With Honey?
I eat my peas with honey;
I've done it all my life.
It makes the peas taste funny,
But it keeps them on the knife.
-Anonymous
Most of us don’t eat our peas with honey, but we all have little habits that we enjoy and can be stubborn about. Some people have a favorite pew they sit in each week at church. Most of us have a favorite TV show. We like our sandwiches made a certain way, and there is almost certainly a chair or spot on the sofa in our house that is designated as “my seat.” Our attitude toward these little things can become very selfish. Have you ever seen a dog that is chewing on a bone? When his closest dog friend approaches, tail wagging, and innocently sticks his nose nearby as if to ask, “Whatcha doin’?” the dog with the bone will growl as if to say, “Get away! My bone!”
I have seen a woman in a nursing home loudly scolding another patient because their wheelchair rolled too close to “her” table in the public dining room! She saw it as an invasion on her space and resented it. Favorite things can become a stumbling block for a Christian that seeks to serve God wholeheartedly. As a matter of fact, it is a natural response to look out for our own interests first. Of course the Bible instructs us to be loving and kind, and selfishness is directly opposed to that type of living. So Christians have a struggle to do the difficult thing and set self aside. What if the hostess serves you peas without honey, bread without butter or hot dogs without ketchup? What is your attitude? It is easy to be self-centered, isn’t it?
But being selfish is hard…the consequence of self-centered living is hard. God has told us this in His Word. Proverbs 13:15a … the way of transgressors is hard. As a matter of fact, we are warned of the corruption of habitual sin. Galatians 6:8b For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption…
Although we all struggle with selfishness daily, some folks give themselves wholeheartedly to self-gratification. I am sure this type of living is very displeasing to God, as He instructs us to serve Him first of all, and we are to treat others as ourselves. Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The selfish individual is usually easy to spot, as he is irritable, ungrateful, and often bitter. The one that is serving self will have a poor attitude when “put upon” by others. If they can’t watch their TV show, eat their peas with honey, or sit in their pew at church, they will become upset and pout. They grumble about it to their spouse on the way home, or mutter under their breath.
So the question is, “What upsets me?” Maybe I am being selfish!
Oh, God, help me to create a new habit of setting self aside so I can love others as You command.