Monday, August 09, 2004

Enchiladas or Gumbo?

Yesterday at the end of my message on loving God with all of your mind I tried to illustrate repentance by saying that it was like finding yourself going down a road in the wrong direction. Say you are going to San Antonio and you go north to Houston and get on I-10. But on I-10 you make a mistake and head east toward New Orleans instead of heading west towards San Antonio. Realizing you have made a critical mistake because mexican food is much better than cajun food you pull off the side of the road. Repentance is not crying on the steering wheel of you car and feeling sorry that you are going towards New Orleans and then continuing in an easterly direction. Repentance is pulling over, turning the car around and heading towards San Antonio and some of the best mexican food in the world.

After the service, a lady came up to me and told me I was a blasphemer and that I had just not eaten the right cajun food. In fact I was amazed at how many people have a strong opinion about which food is better - mexican or cajun. Making the statement that mexican food is better was probably one of the more controversial subjects I've ever broached - imagine that.

Don't get me wrong, I like cajun food okay. It's just that there is nothing better than a hot plate of beef enchiladas thick with cheese. So hot that it burns your tongue when you first try to take a bite. With a side of refried beans, spanish rice and pico de gallo with small chunks of tomato, onion, celantro, and jalapeno. I am making myself hungry.

My oldest daughter and I read a book together and today were going on a "date" to talk about it. I think we'll have to go to El Toro for lunch.

Hmmmm ...

4 comments:

Phillip Hintze said...

Count me as a tally on the cajun side. I simply cannot think of any food that I prefer to good crawfish etoufee, gumbo, red beans & rice, etc... I love mexican food and tex-mex too, but I guess I'm in the minority that prefers Pappadeaux over Pappasito's (and I love Pappasitos).

Phillip Hintze said...

by the way, it's spelled laissez le bon temp rouler. Pretty close, though.

Ronnie Whitehead said...

Well, I prefer seafood of most any kind. I can spell shrimp, trout, hush puppies, and crab au gratin. GO WINDSWEPT!

Tommy said...

Yes, Godly sorrow leads to repentance (2 Cor 6:9-10). But the Bible more often speaks of repentance as a turning away from a life that is self directed to a life that is God directed.

That was the point of the illustration on Sunday. Too many times people believe that repentance consists completely of sorrow. So if they feel sorry for their sin they believe they have repented. But true repentance is turning from my way (sin and the desires of the flesh) and towards God (life and peace).