I was struck with the serenity and beauty of this mountainous part of Africa as we ate breakfast with the local pastor. It reminded me of the pine forests of Colorado with little African villages interspersed. Such a combination was totally new to me. As we drank the piping hot chai served to us that one of my traveling companions called "diabetes in a cup" due to the inordinately high sugar content, I suddenly saw the cat.
He was mid-night black with a nefarious feline gaze that told me he was up to no good! In Africa cats are not usually kept as pets. And it the rare cases, they are certainly not welcome around the dining table. Yet, there he was sitting on his haunches staring right at my chapati. I tore a piece off to dip into my sugary chai and the feline's eyes followed my every move. A bit unnerved by the intensity of this cat's gaze, I jumped into Swahili: "so.... pastor.....I see there's a cat in the living room." I hoped he would get the hint.
"Yes, indeed, my brother" he replied. "And we are eating its favorite food!"
"What?" I asked bewildered. In an attempt to answer my question through demonstration he threw half of his chapati on the floor. POW! The feisty feline greedily pounced on it like most cats attack mice. Within seconds, the African flat-bread was devoured. Then came the icy stare again as if to say: "that was just a warm-up exercise!"
I was in shock. Never in all of my life have I ever seen a cat that eats flour products!
"So does your cat eat meat?" "No not really."
"Errr....maybe mice?" "Hmm....no, not much."
"Err..what does it eat then?" "CHAPATIS!!!" came the answer.
Even as I asked the question, the cat jumped up onto it's hind legs and started to sniff my plate with greedy anticipation. Half a chapati remained. "Get down you thief!" I blurted out. "Miaowwww" cried the chapati stalker. It then began to circle my feet biding it's time as if to say: "you just wait buster- I'll have that chapati yet!"
Maybe the altitude of this highland African village had messed with it's feline instincts. Possibly the sight of pine forests in middle of Africa caused it to loose it's senses. Or maybe it was the freezing cold temperatures where they say it snowed a couple of months ago. Whatever the reason- this cat was messed up! I mean whoever heard of a cat eating chapatis.
As I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that this cat needed serious therapy to overcome its eating habits and its kleptomaniac approach to life. A cat feeding only on chapatis will at some point loose all nutrition.
I think there are some similarities with Christians.
Many Christians much like this cat feed on all kinds of things. Entertainment, sports, shopping, friends, hobbies, etc... none of which are bad; these are much like chapatis. We pounce on them eagerly and devour them quickly. We follow there every movement. Sadly, the solid meat of the Word of God is a long-forgotten concept. We are enamored by chapatis. At some point, however, an unhealthy spiritual diet will catch up to us like an unhealthy feline diet. Here's my challenge: find the Word, read the Word, meditate on the Word, digest the Word, and live the Word.
