Our baby son Sebastian is quite keen to explore new foods at the moment. Indeed, he’s so keen that if he sees something new and interesting, he refuses the food that’s on his plate and screams for that new thing, even though he may later realise that he doesn’t like it. Nevertheless, there are some foods that are not good for him at his age, for example those with whole nuts and other choking hazards.

The indignation was great the other night when my wife and I decided to have some wine with dinner and refused to give the baby any of it. He immediately saw that others were enjoying something he was not given. He refused all food and screamed until the wine had disappeared and he seemed to have forgotten why he was so upset in the first place, accepting the food that by now was cold. Sometimes, though, it seems he forgets to eat the normal food in his quest for new tastes.

It’s no doubt good that a baby is keen to explore the exciting world of new tastes and experiences. And to a certain extent I think we can learn from that. We shouldn’t be afraid to try the new at times. On the other hand, if the chasing after the new and apparently more attractive keeps us from our regular nourishment, then we are missing out on the good things in life.

I think that we all have had to learn how to be content without becoming lazy and disillusioned. That’s a balance that not only applies to our material lives, when we had to learn to live within our means while not withdrawing into a listlessness; it also applies to our spiritual lives and our life as a Church together. It is good to yearn for deeper
experiences with God, but we should not disregard what we have already been given.
It is good to aim for growth and new expressions of Church, but we should not dismiss what we already have.

Godliness with contentment is great gain. 1 Timothy 6: 6