Bring It All To The Table
by Tammy Iund Woodard
Welcome to the new CCCoG Beyond Sunday Blog. Our goal is to give you an opportunity to dive a little deeper into God’s word during the week. Here at CCCoG we like to ask, “What is God saying to you?” and “How are you going to respond?”
Every Monday, we’ll post a new blog. Each blog will have a devotion to read and journal questions to answer. The reflection activities are self-paced. You can move through them as fast or as slow as you’d like throughout the week.
Monday - 9.13.20
Does your family have the tradition/habit of sitting around the dinner table for meals? I have fond memories of sitting around the table, after dinner, visiting with my family. Once I was a single mom, it was a struggle to get us around the table. I did my best to make it happen at least once a week. I wanna talk about “the table”.
Before we go further, let me share some definitions:
Table: a group of persons at a table, as for a meal, game, or business transaction.
Feast: Feasting is a powerful and trans-formative phenomenon. Societies are both integrated and differentiated through feasting; identities are both enacted and altered; and ideologies are inculcated.
I searched scripture for the use of the word table. Then I had a revelation - an aha moment if you will. The word table, referenced in the bible, often meant a time of feasting. As I pondered that, I thought of the old Hollywood “biblical” movies. You know, Ten Commandments, Moses, etc. There’s always a scene where some king is having a huge feast and usually has officials/royalty from another kingdom joining him. Do you remember these? Feasting, back in the day, was the avenue for kingdoms to negotiate. They’d come together over food and discuss the issues of each kingdom. In this way of negotiating, everyone around the table was equal. Everyone enjoyed the feast and it was really a collaboration. The table symbolized community. The table symbolized collaboration even between different communities with different viewpoints. Sound much like your table?
Fast forward to today and how we use the table. We’ve done away with the feasting and the table has become a symbol of power. Think about contract negotiations and board meetings, etc. Those with authority come to the table to negotiate. Only the skilled and talented are invited to the table to brainstorm.
Do you ever ask yourself the question: “What do I bring to the table?” When we think this way, we instantly throw a power hierarchy into our relationships. We put ourselves into the one down position. Suddenly we are questioning our self-worth. Now we are comparing ourselves to others around the table rather than walking out the truth that God says about us.
If we don’t feel like we can bring something to the table comparable or better than others then we often isolate or avoid community altogether. This is not the call of God for your life. The purpose of the feast at the table was for celebration, creativity and collaboration. We’ve made it a power struggle. Where have you allowed your comparison to others to keep you from coming to the table? God wants you to understand that when he died for you he gave you all the worth you needed. You are worthy to be at the table because you are a child of the King of Kings.
Reflection
Pray and Reflect on: 2 Corinthians 10:12
12 Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!
Make a list of 5 scriptures that remind you of your worth – based on what Christ has done for you and what he says about you.
Do you have situations or people in your life make you feel like you have nothing to bring to the table? How can you actively begin to change that thinking?
Do you consider yourself ‘table worthy’? What is the biggest obstacle that keeps you from coming to the table (in your relationships/friendships)? How can you encourage others who may not feel “table worthy”?
What would coming to the table look like in your relationships? How would it change things? Who is missing from your table? What can you do to change that?
