My ‘New International Version’ Bible has been an old friend for many years. The more I read it the more familiar it becomes. I recognise recurring themes, spot repeated phrases.
This morning I read Psalm 14. It’s familiar. It starts: ‘The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’’ I’ve heard sermons preached on it.
I become less secure when I read Psalm 14 in my ‘Message’ Bible. It starts: ‘Bilious and bloated, they gas, ‘God is gone.’’ The familiar and comfortable becomes strange and challenging.
I reach verse 4. The familiar ‘evildoers… who devour my people as men eat bread.’ becomes, ‘predators… treating people like a fast-food meal.’
Wow! Treating people like burgers!
So how do I treat people?
Burgers? I’m a consumer. I pay the going rate for others to satisfy my needs, give me instant pleasure.
Servants? I’m a boss, looking after myself. Others are there to serve me, care for me, provide for me, do what I want.
Zoo-animals? I’m a visiting observer, protected from others by a cage, a protective screen. I keep my distance; others might hurt me.
Business colleagues? I’m a business-man negotiating a deal. Together we can work out something that’s to our mutual advantage.
Fellow travellers? I’m a traveller. I look for others to accompany me, going in the same direction, travelling at a similar speed.
Earlier in the week a friend, who’s been helped and supported by Overeaters Anonymous, introduced me to the OA Promise:
‘I put my hand in yours, and together we can do what we could never do alone. No longer is there a sense of hopelessness, no longer must we each depend upon our own unsteady willpower. We are all together now, reaching out our hands for power and strength greater than ours, and as we join hands, we find love and understanding beyond our wildest dreams.’
Instead of consuming others like a burger I join hands with them, so that together we find power and strength, love and understanding.
malcolmsmusings.org 
The Over-Eaters Anonymous pledge speaks peace to my heart, Malcolm. As a public school administrator, I am often asked to bring peace between upset parents and teachers, or to take disciplinary action with a student that sometimes receives a mixed reception. Leaning on the team of other administrators in my building is often a solace.
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Me too, David. I hadn’t met it before, but it speaks powerfully about the value and strength of working together. My years in schools also taught me how important it was for teachers, parents, children and authorities to all work together… and how destructive it can be when they don’t.
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