Bitter or Sweet? Buffalo or Fido?

Journal 2005 10 10
Bitter or Sweet? Buffalo or Fido?

Tom Berenger and Barbara Hershey star in a little known but family favorite movie at our home titled “Last of the Dogmen.” It is a modern day cowboy and indian movie set in the mountains of Montana and makes for great story-telling. Highly recommended and it provides an introduction into the record of the Corp of Discovery as entered by Captain Clark.

At the end of his journal entry for today in which he recounts the running of many rapids to the amusement of watching tribes, ancient “hot tubs” formed by dropping hot rocks in pools of water and lodges (tipis) and fish camps along the river Clark makes detailed anthropologic notes regarding the dress of the men and women. After recording what the mission requires Clark notes that, “our diet extremely bad having nothing but roots and dried fish to eate…” These men must be anxious to get away from the dried salmon and roots which cause them so much distress. Two days ago three of the intrepid travelers acquired and ate dogs. That’s right, dogs! Fido and Spot and Rover became dinner fare for Labiche, Cruzatte and La Page. Now, given the choice of more dried salmon and roots or dog flesh, all but Clark chose dog. Captain Clark records his reaction to the new menu item. “all the party have greatly the advantage of me, in as much as they all relish the flesh of dogs, Several of which we purchased of the nativs for to add to our Store of fish and roots &c. &c. In the fictional account of “Last of the Dogmen,” Indian soldiers were called Dogmen partially because they ate dogs. The Nez Perce made fun of the soldiers of the Corps of Discovery for this practice calling them “dog eaters.”

Hunger is a driving force in our lives and satiating it can be a blessing or curse depending on our responses. I had to change my diet a few years back. My then teen-age daughter looked at whatever was on my plate and inquired, “Dad, do you like that?” My response was Biblical and one I was learning firsthand, “When you are full, you will refuse honey, but when you are hungry, even bitter food tastes sweet.” (Proverbs 27:7) Compared to more dysentery and distress, dog must have looked pretty good.

Have you ever been really hungry? Have you ever been really broke and eaten only what was in the house? Have you had to eat the same thing over and over again? Then you understand the sweetness of food. It is affected by hunger.

What do we hunger for? Do we hunger for food that brings us strength or do we desire that which brings us pleasure? Do we desire the Bread of Life, or the latest designer loaf from the latest designer bakery? Do we gather the Bread of Heaven? Do we hunger and thirst for righteousness or do we hunger and thirst for wine and cheese?

Digging in deeper, eating dog brings flesh to the statement, “…even the bitter tastes sweet to the hungry.” Are you bored with life? Has the Bible lost its flavor to you? Is life in the church a chore rather than a river of life? Then you need to get hungry. And you get hungry two ways. One is by not eating as much or even forsaking all food in a fast. The other way is by working hard, burning up what you’ve eaten and needing food to proceed.  Proceed on. Doing the work appointed by the One who commissioned us to complete the assigned mission. Then food becomes fuel to the mission. Can we think of food as fueling up for the day? Too little work and too much eating causes us to get fat, physically and spiritually. Exercise is good to build an appetite. Hard work is better. Let’s go burn some fuel today so no matter what our menu, it is flavored by our hunger to taste sweet.