There was a McDonald’s advert a while back where a lift breaks down mid-floor and two ladies who don’t know each other are trapped. They began to chat, share stories and photos, and let each other try on their shoes and scarves – the point was they were sharing everything. They are then interrupted by a man trying to fix the lift, who hands them down some food, a McDonald’s meal. They are eating it, and one of the ladies goes to grab a chicken dipper, and the other lady says no, I’m not sharing that! I hope I haven’t made you hungry!
Sharing food, of course, is a good thing, but the Lord makes it clear that not all sharing is good: 1 Corinthians 10:21 says, You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.
The warning and command is you cannot profess to love and follow Jesus, sharing in the Lord’s provision of salvation and communion whilst at the same time attending and sharing at the table of idolatry, sin, evil and demons.
Paul writes that it is wrong to share your life with God but simultaneously share it with the enemy in what we willingly entertain and participate in. Of course, none of us are perfect, but we are called to live solely in Jesus’s love and holiness.
The enemy will invite you to share at the table of demons; there will be opportunities to do so through gossip, bitterness, envy, rage, idolatry, selfishness, hurt, trauma, and the list goes on. Paul pleads with the Corinthians: do not share your life with any other table than the table and communion laid out for you by Christ; do not allow the enemy to ransack you, rob you, and hold you to ransom.
You have been bought with a price; you are His possession and treasure; you are deeply loved and forgiven, chosen and called. Remember who and whose you are – you, Christian, are a child of the King. Don’t be tempted to sit at a table that God never intended to share you with.
God sees; nothing is hidden from His sight, and nothing fools Him. But He also cares and wants us to live from His supply and abundance. Jesus died so that we might be free from fear, addiction, pornography, pride, deceit, bitterness and all things evil. Your seat is at His table and only His table, He is a jealous God.
Fear can often be why we find ourselves sitting at a table not meant for us. I have on my heart to share: 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
Of course, we must confess sin and receive His renewal and forgiveness if we share our lives at two tables. Still, we also need a fresh infilling, baptism, realisation, and encounter with God’s whole, never-ending, deep, rich, powerful, and beautiful love. He invites you to bathe in that love today and always know His supply at His table.
Lord, I confess my sin… I want to be present at only one table, Your table. Holy Spirit, please pour Your love into my heart afresh and drive out fear and sin. Open my eyes and understanding to know and experience Your Father’s Heart over my life. May I rest, live, walk and worship in and from Your pure, divine and Holy love. Amen.