In this passage, Paul instructs...
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In this passage, Paul instructs us to put all things to the test -- keep what is good and avoid every kind of evil.
Over a recent spring break, I led a group of 40 adults and teenagers to Washington, D.C., to work in the community kitchens of the D.C. area. At one kitchen in particular, we spent the whole morning sorting through food that had been donated by local restaurants, hotels, and supermarkets. Our supervisor Dolores had told us simply to "keep the good stuff and throw the rest out." Some of our group started with six plastic trash bags full of muffins, while the other half sorted through boxes of lettuce. Not wanting to waste anything, both groups saved as much as they could. Anything that looked edible, we kept -- no matter how smushed the muffins or wilted the lettuce.
We were halfway through our job when Dolores came by to check up on us. She took a long look at the less than crispy lettuce and then she picked up a blueberry muffin with half its top missing and asked a young girl in the group named Annie, "Would you eat this?" Annie wrinkled up her nose and said, "No." "Well what makes you think they will?" asked Dolores, nodding to the line of hungry people waiting to get in. "I said keep the good stuff. I meant the ones you yourself would eat. Otherwise, throw it out. The test is: If not it's good enough for you, it's not good enough for them."
Over a recent spring break, I led a group of 40 adults and teenagers to Washington, D.C., to work in the community kitchens of the D.C. area. At one kitchen in particular, we spent the whole morning sorting through food that had been donated by local restaurants, hotels, and supermarkets. Our supervisor Dolores had told us simply to "keep the good stuff and throw the rest out." Some of our group started with six plastic trash bags full of muffins, while the other half sorted through boxes of lettuce. Not wanting to waste anything, both groups saved as much as they could. Anything that looked edible, we kept -- no matter how smushed the muffins or wilted the lettuce.
We were halfway through our job when Dolores came by to check up on us. She took a long look at the less than crispy lettuce and then she picked up a blueberry muffin with half its top missing and asked a young girl in the group named Annie, "Would you eat this?" Annie wrinkled up her nose and said, "No." "Well what makes you think they will?" asked Dolores, nodding to the line of hungry people waiting to get in. "I said keep the good stuff. I meant the ones you yourself would eat. Otherwise, throw it out. The test is: If not it's good enough for you, it's not good enough for them."
