February 18, 2016 Thursday)
I love pie, candy, ice cream, donuts, sweet rolls, and almost anything that tastes sweet. I don’t like bitter stuff. I started thinking about that today, and began to wonder why. Why is “sweet” good and “bitter” bad? I ran a search to get an answer and immediately discovered that this can become a very complicated subject.
I cannot adequately answer my simple question with a simple answer. A full answer would involve taste buds and receptors, and brain functions, as well as examination of every major system of the body, and I’m not ready for that. For one thing, I don’t think I’m fully capable of understanding all that, and for another I know what I like to eat (almost anything) and that’s really all I need to know, I guess.
There are some simple answers, however, and those are the ones I prefer. For instance, why do we have cravings for certain types of food? Answer: because the body has decided we need those foods (or at least the chemicals they contain). Why do we prefer sweet to bitter? Simple answer: it just tastes better. A more complete answer, however, might take into account that sugar in our blood gives us energy, and we just naturally like that feeling.
Take The Bitter With The Sweet
I’ve taken the long way around to examine the saying, “take the bitter with the sweet.” This is an old saying that we’ve doubtless heard before, meaning “accept adversity as well as good fortune” in your life.
There are a lot of ways to accomplish this acceptance of both good and bad things happening in our lives, but the best way is to trust the Lord. Paul put it this way: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 4:12 NIV). He also gave us a scripture verse to use as a reminder when things go wrong: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 NIV).
A wonderful song by Dick Baker, goes like this:
I place my life in the hands of God.
Those hands so scarred now outstretched for me.
Where ever it may be, over land, over sea,
May thy will sublime, O Thou God divine, be mine.