March 4

March 4, 2009

Leviticus 11

Leviticus 11:47 You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.

I am a member of the Jewish Community Center and every time I walk into the gym, I pass the deli. On the front of this deli is the word “Kosher.” This means they serve food in line with these dietary laws we read today. It is clear that these laws drew a distinct line between “clean” and “unclean.” Now I don’t know all the reasons for these distinctions, some of them are for health reasons, The Maker’s Diet is a book about the benefits of these laws. I thought the book was great until the author recommended I eat dirt. There are also spiritual reasons for the laws because God wanted his people to avoid the dietary practices of the pagan in Canaan. Whatever the reason, the laws were a constant reminder that Israel was to be separated from the uncleanness of the world.

How does this apply to us as we live in 2009? Should we say “no” to those delicious pork chops that will be cooking on the grill soon? What about the way we prepare our meals, no cooking meat in milk? What sets us apart from the world today?

Here are the words of F. Lagard Smith, “What sets us apart from a godless world might be our dress, or perhaps food and drink from which we abstain. Modesty and sobriety and self-control are increasingly rare virtues. Yet dressing oddly doesn’t necessarily make us separate – only odd. And eating strangely doesn’t make us separate – only strange. If we truly want to be seen as separate, it will come in our conversations and values, in our material possessions and financial priorities. In what we listen to and what we watch. Interesting, isn’t it? Even today there’s a recognizable difference between “clean jokes” and “dirty jokes,” between “good clean fun” and “just plain filth.”

Do you ever consciously distinguish between what is “clean” and “unclean”?
Today would be a great day to throw out some of the dirt in our lives.