Before You Sit at His Table-Sis it may cost you more than you’re willing to pay to dine with him.
The car stops, annoying beeps ring from the car. The door slam and the noise come to a halt. I wait for my door to open, but it doesn’t. I sit in silence for a moment before I ease the blind fold from my face. His hands cover my eyes. “It’s a surprise,” he says and return the blind fold to my eyes. He takes my hand and guide me from the car.
I was a little skeptical when I got the invitation. Honestly, I thought it would come sooner than it did. Today was going to be different, I could feel it. This was a big deal given how Chase moved.
“You ok,” he ask. I had to play it cool. I didn’t want him to know I had doubts. I’d had the blind fold on for a while now. He told me once we pass the City Museum to put on the blind fold. I did as he asked. He said he wanted to surprise me, but I knew he didn’t really trust me, and he didn’t want me to come visit him unannounced. I got it. I’d played this game way too many times. I’d like to say I mastered it.
I nod. He guides me up a few steps, turn a couple of corners and stop. “It’s yours, he whispered in my ear while removing the blind fold. My mouth gaped open just enough to show him I was appreciative, but not wide enough to make him think I had to have it.
I learned to never crave another mans delicacies for that food is deceptive. Proverbs taught me that. I thought about the other tables I had the privilege of sitting at and the invitations I rejected. It seems the tables that had the best food came with a hefty price. My mom told me I should always eat when someone offer me something, it would be rude to refuse. It’s pretty easy to follow that when everything on the table looks good. But she never warned me of the dangers that accompanied eating at the table.
Sadly, I learned the hard way. It’s quite natural to eat when you’re hungry. Hungry for a better lifestyle than the one you have. Starving for a change hoping you don’t miss your opportunity to eat. Wanting to take advantage of the moment because you don’t know how long it will be before you eat again or simply feeling it’s been way overdue and now you can eat all you want.
Well I’ve sat at a lot of tables. The tables were immaculate, yet it cost me something to sit and eat. I later learned from Proverbs that while I was indulging in the food on the table he was more than likely counting up the cost. It was one thing to be invited to the table, but when I ate the food on the table I stepped into uncharted territory.
Some of the tables I’ve eaten at cost me my freedom, sanity, self-esteem, self-worth. I suffered physical and mental abuse. I forgot who I was, and I was forced to be something I was never intended to be.
Chase stood beside me with a pleasant smile on his face. “So, what do you say, do you want it.”
Remembering my journey leading up to this marvels moment I turned to him and stared into his eyes as I had done so many times. “What is it going to cost me?”
Over the years I learned that it’s not wise to eat at everyone’s table. Most of the ones willing to feed you want something in return unless God sent them. When I come to a table, I come full so that I’m not tempted to eat from a table that’s going to cost me something in the long run. When I come to the table, I come whole because I don’t want to eat in order to feel complete. When I come to the table I come with my own money because I don’t want you to think you can buy me. I use wisdom when I come to the table because I don’t want to mistake salt for sugar.
Photo by: Amadeo Valar on Unsplash
