Matt Richards
This is from FB, a memory from 6 years ago.
Malachi 1:6-8 God gets the Butt-End. A son shows respect to his dad; a worker holds the door for his boss. So if I'm your father, where's my respect? If I'm your boss, how come you slam the door in my face? asks God. You reps are the worst-you misuse my name and wear it out. Course you come back all innocent and ask, How? (either bluffing or stupid). You make a mockery of the whole sacrifice system; I only get the butt-end of the deal-is that right? I only get damaged goods you'd chuck away. Is that right? Try giving this rubbish as a present to your boss. D'you think he'd premote you? D'you think he'd take you out for lunch?
(The Word on the Street Bible)
I can remember the time me, Clint and Lois Holmes, and John Monaghan and someone else were given three car loads of food for the purpose of feeding the homeless.
We got back to mine all excited; "let's try it", but like the three stooges we were, we hadn't checked the dates on all the food.
I looked at a can of Big Soup and M&S Bacon and Lentil Soup and it said best before 2006.Yes it was, at the time seven years out of date. Not seven days, weeks or months; but seven years.
Trying to put a brave face on I said, "they'll be alright, soup lasts for years". Let's pray over them and with great difficulty I got this nearly solid soup out of the tin and cooked it.
Beth at this point started to gag, which really wasn't helpful. She also pointed out that the cans were rusty on the inside, which also was not the most encouraging.
"No problem, we are men", I said (doing a Mr. Olympia pose at the same time...Aaar).
We all sat down and said a very lengthy, and meaningful grace which was loaded with such great germ killing, botuli busting faith. We contemplated marching round the table seven times but thought this was a step too far. Then very quickly and I mean quickly, like we were on a 'get me out of here challenge' we ate it. We chugged it, we troughed it, trying not to chew too much to get it down fast.
I then followed the soup up with two out of date deserts and a mouldy mince pie just to finish off the whole meal of death.
At this point a man who had been homeless (and clearly had more sense than all of us combined) said to me;
"You can't give this to the homeless as they will think you don't care".
And he was right of course, so we didn't, we couldn't as it was' Fag Butt Christianity.
So I had them outside in my back garden, over a hundred cans of big soup for nearly a year before Leon Price kindly dumped them for me. (Legally I might add).
I don't think I've had an out of date or an in date Big Soup since, just can't face it. But I learnt a valuable lesson that day.
The lesson, the point is not that saying grace doesn't cure all because it did; or that 2006 is not a good year for soup; but we had been given the 'butt-end'. And we nearly passed this butt-end on to others.
So many times we do the same with Jesus. We give him the last five minutes of the day before we fall asleep, some loose change for the offering and ninety minutes on a Sunday which we turn up late too.
God gave us His best, Jesus.
You know God doesn't want, or need the worst of us: but the best of us. We need to give Him the best, the first and do the same to others.
That is our money, our time, our talent and even our soup. Don't give God the Butt-end: but the best end.
When you do it to the least of these you do it to me. I don't ever want to give Jesus out of date soup or anything else which is substandard.
Praise God for Radical lessons learned.
(Oh and praise God no one was sick either).
Whatever we do to the least we do to Jesus.
No Fag Butt Christianity.
P.S.
I still have some mince pies if you're interested.
Prayer:
Father forgive me for giving my leftovers and my loose change to You. Help me to be generous in my worship and in my time and material things that I give to You and others because You deserve the best today in Jesus' name amen.