Buying Rancid When Fresh is Only a Step Away

Ryan, Hannah, and I were on the way back to the farm from a shopping expedition. I had stocked my 'fridge with healthy foods that included turkey sausage and fresh fruit, but Ryan wanted ribs. We stopped by a grocery I hadn't visited in years and found a surprising array of foods.

Not far from the red pepper hummus was a plastic bin with a hand-lettered sign offering "rancid fatback" for sale. In case you're wondering, "rancid" fatback is old, stale fatback that both smells bad and tastes bad. 

The three of us stared at that bin in astonishment. "Why would anyone buy this, Miss Leanna?" Hannah asked. 

"I have no idea," I told her. 

Ryan looked across the aisle at the meat coolers. "If you step across the aisle, you can get not-rancid fatback, so... why buy rancid?" 

No one had an answer, but the question has stayed with me for the last two days. 

Why buy rancid?

If you've read this blog for a while, you know I had to dig a bit... The Hebrew word for "rancid" is ba'ash, and is used 31 times in Scripture. One of the first verses I found was from Ecclesiastes:

"One dead fly makes the perfumer's ointment give off a rancid stench, so a little folly can outweigh much wisdom." Ecclesiastes 10:1 net

It's a sad truth that all the wisdom in the world can be undone and rendered doubtful by even a "little" sin. That's why it's so important to choose righteousness and repent quickly.

The writer of Proverbs stated the situation in clear terms:

"The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked make themselves a stench and bring shame on themselves." Probers 13:5 niv

Here's the Leanna paraphrase:

When we indulge ourselves in a life of sin, we smell like rancid fatback to God, so make a better choice. A cleansed heart is only one step, one bent knee of repentance away. 

Rancid fatback. It's not a smell I enjoy. It's not something I want to use for cooking, and it's sure not a smell I want to embrace.  

We have a choice - choose Christ's righteousness and a sweet smelling savor or choose the evil one's sin and a rancid fatback stench. Phew. 

I choose Christ. How about you?

__________

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: How Annabelle Became Andy and the Importance of Truth

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