Reference text: Matthew 12:1-8
Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Hunger can be seen as one of the normal things that happens to any human being but there is another side to this ‘phenomenon’ that many do not notice- the fact that hunger can have similar effects to that of alcohol. It is very easy for a hungry man to exhibit the same tendencies as one who is under the influence of alcohol such as a show of ‘unusual confidence’, making avoidable mistakes or even betrayal. In the case of hunger, you can consider desperation as the root cause of many decisions taken on an empty stomach.
It is established that the disciples of Jesus were hungry while they walked through a field of corn on the Sabbath. Based on Jewish rules, they were not even allowed to pluck grains of corn but that was exactly what they did. You can call it ‘breaking the custom’ but to them, they were walking through a field of opportunity and their decision to pluck grains was them taking advantage of the opportunities that had been presented to them regardless of what would occur after.
We sometimes find ourselves in much similar situations where the norm may be to walk through a lush field of opportunities and emerge from the other side empty handed. Sweetheart, we cannot keep throwing these opportunities away for fear of backlash, afraid of what people will say about and to us because we will have no excuse to give when we come out with nothing.
You could argue that the disciples plucked the grains because they were desperate to fill their bellies: even if that were true, then I believe such hunger is needed to also cause us to take advantage of the many different opportunities that surround us- the chances to touch a life, share a smile, speak a kind word or learn something new; those opportunities we constantly throw away because we are afraid of what others will say. These may seem small and unimportant, but they make the biggest of differences.
Remember # choosing to emerge empty handed after walking through a field of opportunities is your own decision.
#sly
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