The Convenience Diet

In my reading a while ago, I discovered a verse (okay, it was there all the time, but I just noticed it): Proverbs 30:8b, 9. It says, "Give me neither poverty or riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say 'Who is the Lord?' or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain."

There is a lot packed in that passage, but what stuck out at me was the "food convenient for me". I knew it wasn't talking about White Hen Pantry or Wendy's. So, I've been pondering that for a few weeks. And finally, while I was stuffing my face with the sweet corn fresh out of the field tonight, it came to me.

Back when Agur (the writer of this particular Proverb) put pen to paper, they ate a little differently. Without refrigeration or freezing capacity, they ate what was in season or freshly provided. Our modern day supermarkets, international shipping, and food storage ability make every form of produce, grain, and meat a convenience any time we choose. But it has not always been so.

Another thought that relates is: Why is it that certain foods appeal to us in different seasons, but not others? Canned pumpkin is available all the time, yet not only do I not make pumpkin pie in the summertime, but it doesn't even sound good then. Why? Similarly, we eat hearty soups and stews in the fall and winter, but the thought of them on a day like today (when the heat index is at 110) almost makes me ill (or is that all that sweet corn talking?). In January I don't daydream of watermelons, and in July I don't dream of butternut squash. Why?

Could it possible have something to do with our Supreme Creator being wise enough to tailor our desires to what would naturally be available at the time?

An even bigger question is, What would happen to our lifestyle, our health, and our physique if we went back to eating what was "convenient" for us? The concordance defines the word as "an enactment: hence an appointment of (time, space, quantity, labor or usage). Other versions translate the word as needful, or my portion.

This is definately going to take some more pondering.

*originally written 8/21/06