Seafood Risotto is not Life-Changing

I believe it was said by Karl Barth that one should “read the Bible with one hand and the newspaper in the other.” Dominicans have expanded his quote by saying, “Preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.” I’m sure that it occurred neither Barth nor the early Dominican Theologians, that journalistic food for reflection would be found in something as light-hearted as “Public Eavesdropping.”

This morning there was another gem!

These are the words of a “man sharing with a waiter his reaction to his seafood risotto.” He said, “It’s not life-changing.”

Now who would ever think that a particular entree would be life-changing  (unless of course the person eating it was on the brink of starvation, or the food was tainted, resulting in food poisoning)? Do people go to restaurants hoping that their lives will be changed by the event? Have we so truly bought into the lies sold to us on TV that we hope to have our lives changed by food, a new car, a new wardrobe, a trip to the Bahamas, the latest Wii, or by losing twenty pounds?

If we truly want our lives to change, we need to look around and see the needs around us. We need to find ways to change the lives of the poor and the forgotten. When we give ourselves in service to others, our lives change in ways that are beyond imagining!

So, if you want to have your life changed, just ask God. And remember, be careful what you ask for, you might get it!