Hallmark of Identity

  Food.  It’s a topic that will bring discussion with most anyone!  There are items we love, some we hate, others we tolerate!  There is dialog about what is good for you and what is not.  Sometimes there is even huge disagreements, and over decades, ideas are proven or questioned and information changes.  It’s always interesting when we are told a given food (eggs are an example) should be eaten with great moderation, only to find out years later, they are actually good for you and it’s okay to include them in your diet!

Depending on where you live and time of year, foods take on a specific identity.  Down in Louisiana in Cajun Country you might find crawfish or alligator meat being served at the table, while a Californian might serve up sourdough bread and cobb salad.  In Hawaii you could be served poi or laulau, while in Chicago you may find Jibarito or Italian beef. 

In Tennessee, Catfish and hushpuppies, fry bread and hominy, are sure to please the palate in the western side of the state, while the center and east side of the state share chitlins, cornbread and beans as important staples of the diet; sometimes even to the point of making these foods part of their holiday meals! And for dessert who could pass up Tennessee Banana Cream pie, Mountain Stack cake, and the all-time favorite Tennessee dessert: Moon Pie!

At Maryland tables, soft shelled crabs are likely on the menu or steamed crabs or crab soup, (do you notice the crab theme?) Thrashers French Fries, Pit Beef, Berger Cookies, with some Utz 'The Crab Chip' Potato Chips on the side.  Dessert follows with ‘Smith Island Cake’.  In the upper mid-west buffalo, elk or deer are served! And in the deep south jambalaya or gumbo, fried green tomatoes and peach cobbler for dessert grace many plates!

God knew, we as a people, would enjoy food and saw we are blessed with variety.  That variety is enhanced by the influx of people around the world of different cultures! Each country adds its own “flavor” to a Thanksgiving or even Christmas meal, even when celebrated a little differently!  

God never intended the people of the world to be carbon copies of another.  Geography, social levels, values, economic situations and tradition differences make each culture unique.  Areas are designed to produce different products that when melded together create unique experiences, even with food!

Each group of people, however, have commonalities that binds us all together.  We are all His creation, yet we are uniquely different!  It’s when our minds and hearts come together to worship him as Creator that we can have this incredible relationship with each other.  This is by design.  Our God has an amazing imagination!  I am so grateful He’s seen fit to include us, as humans, as part of his remarkable creation.

As I see our world in turmoil, I encourage you to deflect hate and discord with love and understanding.  This can be incredibly difficult given the unique status many specific people groups demand.  While they want their identity recognized, it seems impossible for these same folks to allow those with different values, ideas and traditions to have their own.

This mindset is so double minded and creates divisions in friends, family and even in our churches.  Perhaps we each need to take a moment and reflect on what is important. We have a responsibility to break the chains of division.  

Part of this responsibility is described in Genesis, in the Creation story.  But further instructions are given throughout His Word.  It’s up to us, however, to search for answers and guidance.  One of the greatest gifts we are given is the task to love one another-- and then make that love, mercy and consideration of others, the hallmark of our identity.

#food  #FoodSpecialties  #MarylandFavorite  FoodAndGeography  #FoodAndCulture  #WeAreNotCarbonCopies  #divisionsInFriendsAndFamilies  #DifferentValues  #OurIdentity

Photo Credit: free pictures of crabs