Articles
Cutting off the End of the Ham
Some of you may be familiar with a popular story associated with the title above. The story goes like this: A husband and a wife are in the kitchen preparing a ham to bake. The husband observes his wife cutting off the end of the ham and wonders why she is wasting such good parts of the meat. He questions why she is cutting off the end of the ham and she remarks that’s the way she learned how to do it from her mother. Sometime later, the wife asks her mother why she always cut off the end of the ham. Her mother responded calmly, “So it could fit in the baking pan.” The point of the story is not about wasting food or learning how to properly cook a ham in the oven. It is rather the important lesson it teaches about cultural training.
We often learn things from our parents and grandparents that we in turn practice and incorporate into our daily routines or habits. We observe things that they have done over the course of time and often times without knowing why, we carry on these traditions. While these things may be harmless (such as cutting of the end of a ham), they may also be very dangerous. Cultural training is one of the many reasons why people choose to deny Christianity today and the truths that our Lord taught. Many people reject baptism because their parents or grandparents did not accept it. Many people hold fast to a certain religion because their parents or grandparents held to a particular set of beliefs. This can be dangerous because our love and devotion to our parents or any family member for that matter, can blind us to the truths of God we have no excuse to be ignorant of.
As little children we indeed learn and practice things our parents do and many of these things may be harmless if our parents are doing what is right. However, when we became accountable and we start to make our own decisions, we must ensure that what we are doing is the right thing when it comes to our spiritual foundations. Our parents or family members will not hold us accountable for our beliefs on the day of judgment. That is God’s business. Some things we observe need not to be questioned while others undoubtedly must. When it comes to Heaven and Hell being on the line and we are on the other side awaiting our fate, it is not what our parents believe that will save us. It is rather what we have chosen to do with the words of our Lord, Jesus Christ. As much as we look up to our family members and those that have played such an important role in our lives, we ought not to ensure that we are right with God first and foremost.
The story about cutting off the end of the ham teaches us that the truth may stay buried for years while others go on living their lives not knowing the reasons why they do what they do. It’s often interesting to me how many people will question anything but the truth regarding their spiritual lives. The Bereans have left for us such a great example about the importance of asking the questions and searching for the truth. “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so”(Acts 17:11). When Paul preached the gospel, they made sure to ask questions. They understood the need to check with God’s scriptures. Paul essentially was cutting off the end of the ham, but the Bereans wanted to know why, and they were not going to stop until they had all the facts. We need to be like the Bereans. We may love our parents and our grandparents, and we may practice many of the things they have taught us or what we have seen in them. But when it comes to our relationship with God, we need to make sure we are asking the right questions and constantly seeking the truth.
