Most shopping malls now have large food courts with a number of different styles of food. Certain streets feature one fast food restaurant after another. Some neighborhoods become noted for their upscale restaurants.

We were taking in the sites of midtown Manhattan, chomping on hot pretzels, when a haggard, down-on-her luck woman walked up to my sister and cried, “Help me, please. I’m hungry.” Without hesitation, my sister handed the woman her pretzel.

I’m sure I was being overdramatic. I was a teenager, after all, and the ups and downs of a teenager’s life feel very dramatic, indeed. I had been volunteering my summer to work at a camp for orphans. It was more demanding than I expected.

There are many different diet plans. Bookstore shelves are filled with diets that say eat only this type of food or that. Some diets tell people to skip a particular food.

Each one of us who is not independently wealthy wakes up and, in one way or another, tries to do exactly what Jesus tells us not to do: work for food that perishes.

Mark Twain wrote, “I have known many troubles in my life, most of which never happened.” I know about such troubles, too.

Some food is better eaten the next day. That is why it’s always good to make enough for leftovers. Cold pizza makes a great breakfast for some. Meatloaf is a great middle-of-the-night snack.

In Hong Kong citizens began hoarding food as the fear of the deadly SARS disease spread. American Airlines senior-level managers hoarded benefits when the company teetered on the verge of bankruptcy, and every day millions of people hoard their time and generosity, worried that if they say yes to one act of kindness, they’ll be roped in to 10 more.

A guy I know grew up believing his grandma was with Jesus  when he fed the 5,000. He came to that belief because whenever that particular gospel would be read, everyone in the family whispered, “Grandma musta’ been there!” And they would laugh.

There is a tyranny of technology that we all are facing. The very inventions that were created to save time, make life easier, and assist us at the workplace have instead turned on us and made our lives more complex by making us more accessible.