No Soup For Me . . .

One of the things we have enjoyed since moving to Birmingham is the tremendous variety in dining experiences. One of our sure favorites is Cheesecake Factory on Saturdays. Soup of the day is creamy chicken artichoke soup and we are regular patrons.

A dear friend introduced me to the soup and I was skeptical. But this soup has changed my life! Our kids think my passion for this soup is funny and upon learning about how often we eat it, my son-in-law asked "Do your parents still have teeth?"

They have not yet had the soup. It is seriously delicious!

Last saturday we got the soup to go. We had both had a busy day, each with our own mother. I was so hungry and happily drove home with my special soup. I was looking forward to taking my shoes off, resting my mind and sitting comfortably with my yummy soup and an icy glass of water.

As my husband and I opened our little containers I suspected that something did not smell right. I was tired and hungry so I brushed the thought away thinking I was just not myself. As we began to eat, we both agreed that something was wrong with the soup.

Upon further inspection we learned that they had run out of creamy chicken artichoke soup and had substituted it with clam chowder. Clam chowder!

It was not good.

That clam chowder looked just like my favorite soup but it was not the same. The smell was different, the taste was different, and most importantly, the ingredients were different. I do not eat seafood. No matter what it looked like, it was not the real thing.

Our world today is serving up bowls and bowls of a hodgepodge of things. What we are being fed often looks like something good but upon close inspection I find that much of it is not. Our busy schedules leave us tired and preoccupied causing us to miss the cue that what is in front of us does not smell right. The taste is bad and the ingredients are wrong.

May we always compare what we are given to both the Word of God and the character of God. I pray that we will be alert and ready to reject that which is inconsistent with either.

"My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you." 

1 John 4:1 (The Message)