In most tribal communities you have to work if you want to eat. Either you go and get the food or you help prepare it. Very seldom does your dinner just show up on your plate. There are some who go out as hunters and some that go out as gathers. They bring back meats and fruits and vegetables. They gather for themselves as well as for the good of the community. There are also those who play the role of preparation. They take what is brought and make it into meals. Everyone plays a role in the feeding of the community. If you don’t get fed it’s your own fault.
It seems to me that it’s pretty much the same with spiritual nourishment.
True spiritual nourishment doesn’t just happen. We work at it. We help make it happen. That’s how we gain the most benefit from what we take in. Maybe it’s us going out and bringing other people in. Maybe it’s us helping prepare the message or playing a part in its being distributed. Maybe it’s us simply working to help those who do the hunting and the gathering and the preparing. Maybe it’s us caring for them.
Who are the ones who can get away with being fed and not working for it? Infants. Babies. Those who can’t care for themselves yet. We care for them knowing that someday they’ll be able to feed themselves, and that someday they’ll feed their own infants and babies. Spiritually, we feed those who are new in the faith, with the hope that they will someday feed others too.
Can we simply be fed? Sure. But what happens then? Remember Little Shop of Horrors? Remember the plant? All it did was eat. And it got bigger and bigger and more demanding. “Feed me!” Its world revolved around its needs. I think that happens in the church too. It becomes about what makes us feel good. The way we like to worship. The Scriptures we like to read. The sermons that speak to us. Now, none of this is bad in itself. But… we need to contribute something positive to the process. It’s not all about us getting fed.
We can be fed without doing any work, but we can’t be truly nourished. Spiritual nourishment requires effort. It requires commitment. It requires us to be engaged in the process.
