Anyone who knows me, knows I don’t cook. Well, to be honest, I rarely cook. I just really don’t enjoy it. And now that I’m alone most evenings at dinner time, it seems rather pointless. But what I discovered today puts my distaste for the culinary arts in a whole new light.
I never realized it before but I don’t really hate cooking, I hate cleaning up. I discovered this when I finally opened my new panini maker the other day and used it. I love this machine! I’m getting crunchy gourmet sandwiches for dinner and when I’m done, all I have to do is clean my cutting board and a knife or two. It’s the best! I don’t hate looking up new recipes. I don’t hate whipping up a new spread or slicing tomatoes. I don’t hate having something besides cereal and chips for dinner. I don’t hate that I only have to run the dishwasher occasionally.
More fattening bacon.
When my mom was alive and mobile, she was the best cook around. Everyone loved her homemade bread, teriyaki chicken, and lasagna. You name and she made it better than anyone, anywhere. I remember a period when she would flour her bacon and then bake it in the oven to make it crispier. Only my mom could think of a way to make bacon more fattening. But it was good.
If my mom was the cook, I was the clean-up crew. I loved her fried chicken but I hated for her to cook it. Inevitably, there would be flour and grease everywhere. She was a firm believer in using every utensil possible and was too busy being creative to actually rinse a dish. That’s what I was for.
Even though I spent plenty of time in the kitchen, I never learned to cook. So what did I learn? I learned there are always consequences to our choices and somebody, somewhere will have to face those consequences. Because I was usually the one to clean up, I now decide what to cook by how many pots I’ll have to wash later. When I do cook, I usually burn it because I am intent on cleaning as I go.
This May Seem Like A Stretch . . .
This is such a great illustration of the impact of generational sin cycles. This is going to seem like a stretch to you but stick with me. What we do matters to the people who follow us. When we make messy choices, the consequences may never touch us but they will touch someone.
For instance, if I refuse to pay a debt I’ve incurred, that is a sin choice. If I maintain a pattern of doing this, I initiate a generational sin cycle (or generational curse) in my family line. The way these cycles operate is that our children and their children will become both victims and perpetrators of that particular sin. So, if I justify an ongoing cycle of not paying my debts, my kids will reap the rewards of my choice.
First they will not receive what is owed to them. This can be financially, like not getting a raise they deserve or being cheated in business deals or not being paid back if they loan someone money. Or it can be less obviously financial such as being overlooked for promotion, no favor in sales, or someone taking credit for their work. The consequence is often an offshoot of the original sin, not necessarily “exactly the same as.”
Quite often, they will use their victimization as an excuse to perpetrate the original sin. “I can’t afford to pay that doctor bill because I’m not paid what I’m worth. He’s rich anyway. He can afford to give me a break.” “It’s OK that I don’t pay my hospital bill or my student loans. Institutions have programs to write off debt. I need what little money I have to live on.”
When our kids embrace this mentality of entitlement, they heap another curse on their kids – originally from grandparent and now from parent this generation is doubly cursed – and they extend the cycle to another generation. The more generations, the worse the consequences. Can you say “generational poverty?” That’s what happens when you have multiple generations not receiving what they should be receiving. And poverty reinforces entitlement which reinforces poverty, etc.
Thanks Great Great Grandpa.
These cycles aren’t limited to not paying your debts – that’s just an example. When we embrace any area of sin – justify it and feel entitled to commit it – we are partnering with the devil and subjecting our heirs to the consequences. Knowing this, we really have to ask ourselves when choosing to sin, would I want someone to do “thus and such” to my son or daughter?
OK, maybe going from dirty pots and pans to generational sins really is a stretch. But I can’t help but think that if my mom had known how much I would hate cooking, she might have used fewer pots. Nah.
This is such a big subject. I will probably write more about it tomorrow. In the meantime, today I will be praying for the leaders of our nation to really consider our national debt and for them to receive a strategy on how to deal with it in a Godly way.
What will you pray for today? Please feel free to share and to leave a comment. I’d love to hear what you think!