The Revelation of Jesus with Rick Sterling!

Table Etiquette~

This morning as I perused my social feed I was reminded of a house hold rule when I was growing up that took a lot of practice to achieve, and that I actually forgot about when I was rearing my own children, that most certainly would have eased their emotional discomfort at the kitchen table when my wife and I forced them to eat food they didn't like. The bit of etiquette was instituted by my mother apparently came from her mother, passed down through the generations on her side of the family. 

Here it is: When presented with food that is new, and looks particularly uninviting everyone at the table (including parents) are required to take ONE bite of this food, chew it, and swallow it. My mothers approach to this was that you cannot KNOW that you don't like something simply by looking at it, you must taste it to confirm your initial impression. If you don't like it you don't make a 'face', or express your disgust verbally, you simply don't eat more of it. She also said that more often than not you might actually be surprised that you like it, and add it to your repertoire of foods you enjoy. We practiced this rule at the kitchen table, so that when we went out to eat, or went to a social gathering we would not embarrass ourselves, our parents, or our hosts by acting as if someone tried to poison us.

This came in handy when our family went to Japan in 1967 as part of the Glendale Sister City delegation to the Osaka Worlds Fair. To young inexperienced taste buds some of the offerings were not appealing, but we managed to aquit ourselves well because of the practice we were given.

The same is true for spiritual truth (or any truth). A new truth can be difficult to swallow, but when given the chance it can taste pretty good, and become important to your eternal life.

  "O taste and see that the LORD is good." Ps. 34:8.