I saw the first part of the Audrey Hepburn movie Breakfast At Tiffany’s. I saw just enough of it to know that I didn’t want to see the rest of it! But, in that movie the heroine that Hepburn portrayed, I forget her “name”, talks about what she does when she is sad - not really depressed, but just sad. She said her solution was to go and eat breakfast at Tiffany’s, a prestigious jewelry store in New York. The movie portrayed her as taking a “to go” breakfast early in the morning to the still closed store, and eating it outside while looking at the window displays. This sad solution was supposed to cure sadness!
While I realize this was “just a movie”, I also know that the world finds many “solutions” to sadness, and other problems, that are just like this – empty, hollow, even silly. It is not a solution. It is only an anesthetic of sorts to temporarily numb the mind into forgetting the trouble. Worldly wisdom is full of such things.
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of
men, after the rudiments of the world, and not
after Christ.
According to Samuel Johnson, “rudiment” means “The first principles; the first elements of science…The first part of education…The first, inaccurate, unshapen beginning or original of any thing…” So, rudiments of the world would represent those ideals and philosophies and solutions to life that are formed based upon our early knowledge before we are made new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). This solution mentioned in Breakfast at Tiffany’s presents for us the rudiments of the world, I think.
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My husband leaves very early in the morning for work. He leaves so early that he wouldn’t want me to get up with him. This means that I eat alone most mornings. At first it was hard for me to adjust to eating breakfast alone.
It didn’t take long after he started the early morning schedule, though, for me to realize I needed to do something to make breakfast more pleasant for myself in order to start my day with a better frame of mind. I could have read any book, but the Holy Spirit compelled me to spend that time with the Lord, so I started reading my Bible while I eat.
I know. Someone will probably think this is “unspiritual” because “we should be totally focused on God’s word when we read it”, or some such thing. I would have thought the same thing years ago. Frankly, I enjoy my breakfasts with the Lord a lot. It helps keep my mind focused on something profitable and useful rather than fretting or going over and over all the things I “need” to get done on a given day. I don’t think that the latter things help digestion much for one thing, and secondly, it’s really nice to “eat with” my Best Friend!
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Back to the original topic now.
What a wonderful blessing it is for those of us who are “in Christ” that we do not have to resort to the world’s empty solutions for dealing with sadness! We are not left comfortless. The Holy Spirit of God will lead us to solutions that are helpful and profitable; things that will edify us and, often, others as well.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
We who are Christ’s are not stuck with the rudiments of the world! We have better solutions available to us.
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I hope this doesn’t sound puffed up or self-righteous. It is not intended to be. I just wanted to share this experience and blessing with you.
I would like to start trying to post some of the thoughts and things that I learn from my “breakfasts with the Lord”. Maybe it would be better to start a new blog, but at this point I’m going to try adding it here. I hope someone else will also be blessed. :-)