DevoBlogging – Day 52
Numbers 11
I have overheard at the gastronomical wonderlands know as the “All You can Eat Buffet” two of the great dietary lies of our time. The first is said as a feeder passes by the salad bar saying, “I am going to come back for that later.” The second is as the feeder walks away from the buffet with a plated piled ridiculously high and says, either “I had a small breakfast” or “I am going to have a light supper.”
As is always the case one sin leads quickly to another. The grand theological term bandied about for such behavior is “the slippery slope.” The first sin of the buffet may be gluttony. The first sin of our culture may be gluttony. Our ever expanding waistlines hardly betray the possibility. I, however, have found that the first sin never seems to be that extravagant. The first sin is more often than not of a much more pedestrian nature: Boredom.
It is easy to fall into the trap of doing the same thing over and over and over again. This is true not just of our eating habits but our living habits as well. The French word for boredom is ennui (on –we) which loosely means having too much time on one’s hands and too little will to find something productive to do. The people of Israel have everything they need. All that we need is seldom enough for our desires especially if we are bored. It seems that in Numbers 11 that they are getting a little tired of the menu. The manna sent from God is just not enough to quench their palate. So they start to complain to Moses and to God about their perceived mistreatment. “Give us meat!” they demand.
When we have the luxury of extra time it can be either a blessing or a burden. As a burden we become bored. In our boredom we seek something new as a way to escape our present reality. As a blessing we seek to partner with God in bringing about a new reality. The people of Israel dealt with their situation as a burden and thus they separated themselves from God by accusing God (which is the definition of sin). We need to be careful to not follow their path.
