Fast Food

When we sit down in front of the television it doesn’t take long before we see start seeing the commercials and hear Burger King telling us to “Have it Your Way.” Or, perhaps it is Wendy’s saying, “It’s way better than fast food.” Then Dairy Queen proclaims they are something different.” You can get anything on the menu at any time at Sonic, “America’s self-proclaimed Drive-In.” McDonald’s says, “I’m Lovin’ It,” but if we go to McDonald’s it is because someone else is loving it. I don’t. What-a-Burger is “just like you like it,” and I would have to say What-a-Burger isn’t bad. Oh, and don’t forget Kentucky Fried Chicken because they are, “Finger lickin’ Good.” And, if we head out for something resembling Mexican Food there is Taco Bell, “Thinking Outside the Bun” but Cindy isn’t going to be thinking about Taco Bell regardless of what is in or out of the bun. And finally, Subway says we should always, “Eat Fresh.”

We love our fast food in American society. The list of fast food restaurants is a much longer list than what I just said. Those were the ones I could think of off the top of my head with some kind of catch phrase or motto advertisers use to get our attention. I even tried to look up a few like Jack-in-the-Box to find their slogan and didn’t have much success.

We not only like our fast food, but we really like it fast, on the go, and ready to eat right now. It can even become one of those idols we serve in American society, instant gratification. But I digress. Much of the time we don’t even take the time to sit down in the restaurant or in the park. Many people take their lunch at their desk. It isn’t really hard to drive down the road and see people eating as they drive. I rarely eat fast food anymore but when I did you could see me as one of those shoving food in my face while driving down the road. It becomes really easy to do when you think you always have to be in a hurry.

Perhaps that is the reason we like our fast food so much. As a society, Americans tend to always be in a hurry. We are always rushing around to get somewhere. We all know it takes food to fuel our bodies so we can continue on with this journey we call life. So, in our rushed lifestyles we want to run in and grab a bag full of fuel we can shove down our throats. We need to eat something and do it in a hurry so we can get on with the journey.

When I ate a lot of fast food I thought I liked fast food because I really like hamburgers. But, if that were the case I would have been going someplace besides Burger King. In those days Burger King was my favorite haunt when it came to fast food joints. As much as I may have liked it, there are much better hamburgers around than what Burger King, or any fast food restaurant offers. So, if it isn’t the quality of the food it has to be something else.

Could it be that like so many other places in our lives, we search for meaning in our food? Could it be that for so many our lives are so empty we want to find real meaning in life and we are looking everywhere in an effort to find it, including all the wrong places to find it? Truly my friends, people search to fill the void, the empty places in their lives, with alcohol. Others try to fill these empty place by using drugs. Still others try to fill it with who knows what else. I am no expert but I don’t hesitate for a moment to believe the list could be endless. Could it be that in the rush of our lives some try to find meaning with food, in this case fast food?

We are not the first to do this kind of thing. In our lesson this morning the Hebrews were instructed to hurriedly eat the first Passover. Unlike our fast food today, Passover was fast food, not because of the speed to get the meal, but the people were to be ready to move. They were to eat it in a hurry. It wasn’t intended to fill them forever, but to give them strength for the journey.

The Israelites were to eat this meal fully clothed and ready to depart Egypt and slavery at a moment’s notice. Even today, the whole point of the Seder or Passover meal is to remind Jews of the trials of slavery past generations experienced. They eat the meal to fuel a spiritual journey and to remember.