Proverbs: 15:17 Better to eat vegetables with people you love than to eat the finest meat where there is hate. [Good News Translation]
Summary
The expression "Elbow Grease" is an idiom for working hard at manual labor. It is also a humorous expression of the fact that many tasks require something more to get the job done---not something mechanical like a screw driver or a chemical product like oil, but something extra special-"elbow grease." The expression was also a tradesman joke. A seasoned tradesman (e.g. a mechanic) would tell an apprentice to "go fetch some elbow grease," and then watch as the unwitting apprentice went scurrying off to another mechanic to get it. That mechanic would in turn send the apprentice to another journeyman mechanic who then sent the poor guy on to another mechanic. Each of the journeymen laughed as they watched the apprentice run in circles looking for the elusive "elbow grease."
Perhaps the idea that you need to put "more" than your hands to a task, is what prompted the equally humorous expression: "she put her foot in it," as a compliment to someone's "fine" cooking. The idea was that not only did the cook use his/her hands to whip up a wonderful meal, but that he or she put in a "whole lot more"---the whole foot!
Ask most people growing up in America about when they thought the cook(s) in their house "put their whole foot" in the meal, and I would guess that they would talk about the Sunday after church dinners, or the holiday meals (Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter dinners). Those meals probably "stand out" because they seemed to be ones prepared with the most "loving" care. It was generally for those meals the "special" dishes were brought out, the cloth napkins and silverware carefully arranged and everyone came together and then lingered for a while around the table to talk, reminisce and laugh.
Perhaps the "love" in those meals was just an extension of the love that carried over from the earlier church service or it was just the "love" of GOD and family that the holidays (i.e. Holy days) engender. And, although, we still smile when we remember the "fine" cooking at "our" house growing up, what really was the extra ingredient in all of those meals was not the hand, nor the foot, nor the grease, but the love.
Solomon, who was gifted by GOD with great wisdom, understood the power of love when he wrote Proverbs 15:17.
Extra Meal Preparation
In Japan, some Japanese parents have turned packing their kids lunch boxes into an art form. Inside lunch boxes, known as Bento boxes, food is shaped into animals, pop culture icons and even portraits. One parent noted: "If [my daughter's] boiled egg is shaped like a bunny and it is holding a baby carrot, she'll eat it," See, "Parents Turn Bento Box lunches Into Amazing Food Art In Japan," Huff Post Parents, www.huffingtonpost.com. The box allows food to be grouped together in a visually appealing manner, emphasizing portion control, and creative design. As one person noted in the article, "we eat with our eyes as much as our taste buds and stomachs." When food is presented attractively, it just looks more appetizing.
In other Japanese schools, the food the children consume is grown locally and never frozen. The meals are hearty and healthy, heavy on rice, fish and vegetables. All the students eat the same meals. In the elementary and middle schools the children don white hats and coats and help serve their classmates. They eat in the classrooms with their teachers. There are no vending ma-chines. Often parents call up the school, at the request of their children, asking for a school lunch recipe. See, "On Japan's school lunch menu: A healthy meal, made from scratch," by Chico Harlan, January 26, 2013, www.washingtonpost.com.
According to government data from Japan, Japanese child obesity rates are among the world's lowest and have declined for the past six years, a period when the country expanded its dietary education program. See, "On Japan's school lunch menu: A healthy meal, made from scratch," by Chico Harlan, January 26, 2013, www.washingtonpost.com.
In contract, United States obesity rates have tripled over the past three decades. Despite the fact that First Lady Michele Obama is championing the cause of healthy diet school menus in our nation's schools, according to Chico Harlan: "[E]ven the healthiest choices [in United States schools] are generally provided by large agri-food companies, cooked off site, frozen and then reheated, and forced to compete in cafeterias with all things fried, salty and sweet."
According to Harlan, Japan's children will live on average to 83 years, longer than those in any other country, according to the world health organization. Yet, if asked, none of the other nations would ever admit to loving their children less than Japan loves her children!
WHERE'S THE LOVE
Imagine our nation's schools or our nation's churches without vending machines. Imagine no fast food or unhealthy foods being sold or distributed. Imagine children being taught from kindergarten (or before) about meal portion size or being excited about eating healthy meals or parents asking for school recipes.
Imagine artistically and lovingly creating your next healthy meal [e.g. creating a colorful salad, creating some blended fruit drink or vegetable drinks, or arranging some decorative grapes or cherries or baby carrots on a meal]---and lovingly creating the next healthy meal the next day and the next. Then, imagine yourself doing your job "with love." Or, imagine yourself being a teacher or a student, "with love." In fact, imagine, doing all the tasks you perform today "with love." Just imagine the POWER of LOVE!
Then, roll up your sleeves, say a prayer, "put your hands, feet and heart into it," with LOVE* and Be Blessed!
* In the 1980's The Commodores released "JESUS is Love," written by Lionel Richie. To listen to this song, paste: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KU8tnvk81s in your web browser.
