I guess I'm just a square kind of girl. You can have a square with slightly rounded edges, but if you round off too much then you're no longer a square. And a circle can be smushed or stretched into an oval, but it can never become a square no matter how much you dismember it because it has no edges. That's just the way it is.
So imagine my shock and consternation to read an article in last week's paper about the "vegetarian" dilemma. Evidently there are many people who prefer to eat a vegetarian diet, but will occasionally eat meat (whether because they just want to, they can't afford to eat meat all the time, etc). And you know, what? That's fine with me. But evidently it's created quite a problem in the vegetarian camp. Eat meat? Don't use the vegetarian label. But the "I eat veggies 98% of the time" proclaim "Not so fast." They've named themselves flexitarians.
My first thought on reading this article was "Who cares?" But then I got to thinking about all the people who call themselves Christians but then proclaim they don't think Christ is the only way to heaven. That kind of falls in the same category as "I don't meat except when I want to" group. Or, I'm a ____ fan, but I can't name their coach or two players on the team. (Yes, my niece is still perturbed with me over that one!)
I find it interesting that we desire to belong to a group, and then our rebellious sin nature takes over. Instead of leaving the group or admitting we appreciate characteristics of the group but don't really adhere to its core elements, we try to change the group. "Oh, I'm a vegetarian, which means non-meat eater, but I'll eat fish and chicken once a month and a hamburger on my birthday." Vegetarian? Nah. That circle has some funky-sounded edges to me. Or how about "I'm a Christian, but I don't believe Christ's statement that He is the only way and truth, and I don't agree with His statement that if I love God I'll keep His commandments." A Christ-follower? Nah. That square has no edges.
So let the groupies use the term "flexitarian". It simply means a gel-filled blob. They can mesh to fit into any geometric shape possible. Square today, circle tomorrow. Just watch out for the goop. It tends to leave a mess with any group it adheres to.
So imagine my shock and consternation to read an article in last week's paper about the "vegetarian" dilemma. Evidently there are many people who prefer to eat a vegetarian diet, but will occasionally eat meat (whether because they just want to, they can't afford to eat meat all the time, etc). And you know, what? That's fine with me. But evidently it's created quite a problem in the vegetarian camp. Eat meat? Don't use the vegetarian label. But the "I eat veggies 98% of the time" proclaim "Not so fast." They've named themselves flexitarians.
My first thought on reading this article was "Who cares?" But then I got to thinking about all the people who call themselves Christians but then proclaim they don't think Christ is the only way to heaven. That kind of falls in the same category as "I don't meat except when I want to" group. Or, I'm a ____ fan, but I can't name their coach or two players on the team. (Yes, my niece is still perturbed with me over that one!)
I find it interesting that we desire to belong to a group, and then our rebellious sin nature takes over. Instead of leaving the group or admitting we appreciate characteristics of the group but don't really adhere to its core elements, we try to change the group. "Oh, I'm a vegetarian, which means non-meat eater, but I'll eat fish and chicken once a month and a hamburger on my birthday." Vegetarian? Nah. That circle has some funky-sounded edges to me. Or how about "I'm a Christian, but I don't believe Christ's statement that He is the only way and truth, and I don't agree with His statement that if I love God I'll keep His commandments." A Christ-follower? Nah. That square has no edges.
So let the groupies use the term "flexitarian". It simply means a gel-filled blob. They can mesh to fit into any geometric shape possible. Square today, circle tomorrow. Just watch out for the goop. It tends to leave a mess with any group it adheres to.
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