I was sitting in a restaurant eating lunch.  It had been a long morning and I'd chosen to skip breakfast, so I was pretty hungry by this time.  The sandwich  I ordered wasn't very good but the fried pickles were excellent!  I'm not sure how you eat, but I arrange my food in such a way that I save the best for last.  Well, there was this particular fried pickle that looked better than all the rest.  I was saving it for last because it looked so much better than all the rest of them.  Suddenly, when I was thoroughly enjoying a bite, a hand reached over and grabbed the best fried pickle right off my plate...the one I'd been saving!  Once it was in the mouth of this person, they asked, "May I have one of those?"  I was immediately filled with disdain at the injustice of this action upon myself and my treasured fried pickle.  I mean, why even bother asking if you're going to stick it in your mouth first...right?  If given a choice, I would have gladly shared one of the smaller and punier pickles...but not the best one I'd been saving!  My plate had been violated and my best pickle was gone!  Well, I wasted about 15 minutes of my life stewing over this injustice and then God removed my anger and ordained that I move on and get over it.  After all, it was only a pickle!

Later in the day, through prayer and reflection upon the day, God taught me 3 things through this fried pickle incident.  First, if I hadn't been treasuring that fried pickle, the whole incident wouldn't have been nearly as irritating.  I mean, if the person had taken the scrawny pickle rather than the one I had my heart set upon, it would have been fine, right?  So...lesson one is...don't treasure your fried pickle! (or any other earthly thing.)  Second, I should have offered my dinner-mate a pickle rather than being stingy with them. If I had offered one up front, there never would have been an issue in the first place.  And lastly,  when I did offer them one, I should have picked the very best one to give away rather than saving it for last and for my own enjoyment. 

My flesh so naturally sets its heart upon earthly things and indulges itself with pleasures.  Lord, may I never set my heart upon a fried pickle when Jesus Christ is the greatest treasure to be savored.  May I have a giving heart and may I give the best and not think of myself above others.  May I be Christ centered and glorify Him in my eating, thinking, and relating to others.  May the real food I treasure be the Word of the Living God!

"Whether then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 
(1 Corinthians 10:31)