Would You Give Thanks Before Eating Cheese Crackers?
Some people pray and give thanks before big dinners, or they may pray when they eat any meal. Others pray before they consume anything, including a snack.
The headline question focuses on whether it makes sense for a Christian to give thanks no matter how much or how little is consumed.
But why cheese crackers? You know, the ones with crackers on the outside and cheese spread in between. These small treats can help paint a picture of how numb we’ve become to having food constantly at our fingertips.
Do we reach into the pantry, grab a pack, rip it open, and chomp down? Do we consider how those crackers get into the pantry?
Turns out it took quite a journey. A long line of events, involving many people and much labor, had to occur before the consumer could even purchase the crackers. Here’s a brief overview thanks to an assist from Chat GTP.
The wheat had to be cultivated. Farmers chose the wheat variety best suited to their climate. After field preparation and seeding, crops had to be managed with fertilization, pest and disease control, irrigation, harvesting, drying, and storage.
Then the flour had to be milled, ground, rolled, sifted, blended, and enriched before adding vitamins and minerals.
For the cheese, milk needed to be sourced under strict quality standards. Pasteurization followed before culturing and coagulation. Cutting, cooking, draining, and pressing came next. Aging might have been part of the process, sometimes for weeks or months. A grating or powdering process followed.
Cracker dough production involved mixing and resting. After being formed into thin sheets, the cutting and docking process included the poking of tiny holes into the sheets to prevent air pockets. Baking and cooling came next.
Flavoring followed before the quality control process began. Samples were taste-tested for flavor and texture.
Next, the crackers were packaged, weighed, counted, bagged, sealed, cartoned, and stacked on pallets for transport. Distribution came next, including transportation and shelf placement.
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points oversaw every step from milking to packaging. Lot codes on bags and boxes allowed manufacturers to track the crackers back to specific wheat harvests, dairy farms, and production runs in case of recall.
Finally, the crackers reached the store shelf, ready for you to purchase. You bought the crackers, took them home, and eventually consumed them.
Think about the staggering number of people it took to get those crackers from the good earth to your cabinet.
Looking at this massive project doesn’t provide a reason to pray. But it can give a glimpse into a Christian’s self-reliance as opposed to relying on God. If you believe God’s hand allowed all of these things to come together, it’s easy to give thanks before you eat the food.
Think of it this way: Do you have the skillset, production means, and time to grow wheat, produce cheese, and make cheese crackers? Even if you have those things, you still need the blessing of rain to make the wheat grow.
One of the shortest verses in the Bible is 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
“pray without ceasing.”
That may seem like a daunting command, but Pastor John Piper gave three things for what the verse means:
It leads to a spirit of dependence that should permeate all we do.
It means praying repeatedly and often.
It means to not give up on prayer.
If you believe you don’t have time to pray every time you eat a snack, consider the command to pray without ceasing. These extra prayers fit in obedience to that command.
Enjoy your snacks, but remember the efforts it took to get them into your home. And consider praising God even for the little snacks.
