Weiners or Steak?

As I watch what is happening all around me, I wonder if a societal disconnect has happened?  I am growing a little suspicious (really kinda disgusted) at our sports channels and a fair number of our athletes.  On College Gameday, there is a segment on "fashion," as the commentators evaluate the virtues of college uniforms and whether they meet the "style standards" of our day.  I watched the pre-game show on one of our NFL games, as they showed clips of famous athletes parading in wearing, in my opinion, ridiculous outfits.  There was more fur and froufrou than one would see in a high-class Parisian bar.  And, added to this, football players are crying over losing games!!! Dick Butkus and Ray Lewis would have their faces buried in their hands, shouting ... "there's no crying in football!"

I wonder if this 'attitude' has permeated society.  That's how I came up with this blog title.  Let me elaborate.  Would you rather have weiners or steak?  That is an easy choice for me!  While weiners are fast, easy, and pretty tasty, they are also unhealthy.  Hot dogs are a bit like Federal Legislation ... sometimes the end product works out OK, but you don't want to be around to watch the process.  What goes into legislation and weiners would not be part of what we would choose to ingest.  In fact, emulsified meat trimmings, seasonings, preservatives, and fillers don't sound appetizing to me!  Steak, on the other hand, sounds really good.  It is straightforward meat.  You see what you get, with few frills and just the right seasoning!  I am a steak person!

You are probably, by now, asking what this has to do with Church?  Here are a few thoughts.  I wonder if many of our congregations have become froufrou and fur, rather than straightforward Gospel? In Acts 13:46, Paul and Barnabas "waxed bold (KJV)."  They said, "It was necessary that we first preach the Word of God to you (the Jews).  But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles."  That statement isn't formed to be froufrou or fur. It isn't a spiritual "hot dog."  That is steak ... straightforward and direct.  Let's pray we will "wax boldly" and tell the truth in love (Ephesians 14:15).

I wonder if our men (that's us dudes!) have been drawn into a gray culture of middle-ground, watered-down truth and "maybes?" I heard our political leaders described as, "grins with a body behind it." Are we like that?  If we examine the Paul and Barnabas of Acts 13, we would use terms like, sincere, "what you see is what you get," bold, structured about God's truth, decisive, and real.  I love that last one ... real. While most weiners aren't Kosher, I wonder if the Jews that ran Paul and Barnabas out of Antioch of Pisidia were Kosher?  When Paul confronted them, God's word said they incited a riot using influential women and 'important' political leaders. They sound like the ingredients in hot dogs ... filler, preservatives, meat byproducts (not actually meat) ... I think you get the analogy! In our era of fur wearing, froufrou-bearing, crying football players, trying their best to be "tough," the real tough guys are just folks ... folks that Jesus taught to "let your yes be yes and your no be no ... anything more than this comes from the evil one (Matthew 5:37)."

So back to my original thought.  Would you rather have weiners or steak?  Do you want real substance or the fur and froufrou of our culture? Do you seek the boldness of Paul and Barnabas, or the deception and back-biting of the Jewish leaders? Do you want perception or truth? Do you desire the fleeting peace of the world, or the sustaining peace of Christ? Will you live in Jesus' kingdom, where He is King, or in culture where Satan is "the Prince of the air (and airways)".  I am a steak person!  AMEN