What Will You Do To Get The Best - The Braxtons of Miracle Springs

What will you do to get the best?

I read a book tonight – historical fiction, set in 1867. The characters, a former minister, his wife, her two siblings and a friend – all Christians, some very very very strong Christians, are visiting San Francisco. A friend recommends a place to eat, saying it is absolutely the best food in town. Everyone knows it. It’s so good, that not just anyone can get in. So the friend gets them an invitation and the group of six young people go out to the boarding house/restaurant. They are instantly uncomfortable. Here’s how it is described: 

“It was dark despite the candles on all the tables, and the décor was too gaudy for my taste with red and black flocked wallpaper, big gold light fixtures, and two or three paintings of women on the walls those expressions I didn’t much care for. The sorts of men scattered about at the tables didn’t look or sound like the kind you’d want to spend much time with. It wasn’t what you’d call a family restaurant, and I knew from his face that Christopher felt a little uneasy too. “

The characters concluded it felt more like a tavern or a bordello than a restaurant and regretted going there. They felt they were being a bad witness to the younger ones in the group and felt ashamed of being there.

That brought to mind a question from the Ethics class my husband took in college, taught by the president of the Bible college we attended. The question was, “Would it be unethical for the president of the Bible college to eat at the buffet in the casinos in the next town over?” (FYI – this was in a state that did not allow casinos, but was right next to a state that did.) The reputation was that the casinos had the best food in the area. If you wanted a good buffet, you should go there. That’s what the word on the street was.

Some would say it’s an easy question. Of course you should go there. If it has the best food, you should do it. Especially nowadays when most dine-in restaurants serve alcohol. The line between “restaurant” and “bar” is very blurred. So what’s a casino? If it has good food, go for it, right?

So that brought to mind the question of how far we should go to get the best.

Our culture would say “as far as it takes” because we “deserve” the best. We should fight for the best, do whatever it takes to get the best. The best food, the best clothes, the best electronics, the best education, the best media, the best service from places we visit, etc. We should want the best, expect the best, fight for the best, demand the best, pursue the best.

Matthew 16:24 – Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

When I read the discussion between the characters, at first I was put off by it. Christopher was making such a big deal out of nothing! Nothing happened, no one did anything wrong or was even tempted to do wrong as a result of being there. And the characters admitted that the food was possibly the best they’d ever had. Yet the characters, especially Christopher and Corrie, felt it was wrong of them to be there.

But maybe they were right. Maybe the only “best” we should want, expect, fight for, demand, and pursue is God’s best. And I’m pretty sure His best has nothing to do with making sure food and possessions are highest quality. So maybe that’s my challenge for this week. In the midst of Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping, I can think about God’s best – denying myself and following Him instead of expecting to only have the highest quality food. (Which would be Carlos O’Kellys enchiladas – that’s what’s on the menu for tomorrow!)

If you liked this, check out more of The Journals of Corrie Belle Hollister by Michael Phillips. This particular excerpt is from The Braxtons Of Miracle Springs

by Michael Phillips, Bethany House Publishers, 1996.