Too Much Milk

God calls each of us to progress in our Christian lives.  The apostle Paul challenged the church at
Corinth for deficiencies in their walk in 1st Corinthians 3:
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

We have the challenge to grow in the Lord.  Yes, in our physical diet, milk is a beneficial component, but Paul is pointing out that we don't just stick with that.  As the writer of Hebrews says, we are to consume meat, which is an ingredient of growth.  The starting point of the Christian life is accepting Christ as Savior, but that is the first step of an adventure, not an end unto itself.  He wants us to pursue the things that will cause us to grow and to evaluate how we're doing as we follow that path He intends.

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In Hebrews 5, we read a challenging passage about the intake of spiritual food:
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

There was a quote recently in a USA Today article that is significant on a physical, as well as a spiritual level: "There’s just too much milk in the world..."  That was said by George Crave of Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese in Waterloo, WI.  The article opens up by saying:

The dairy industry is facing a global glut of milk, threatening to force farmers out of business amid calls to voluntarily lower production.

It's a complicated economic situation.  According to The Buffalo News, "Farmers say milk prices have plummeted thanks to a myriad of factors, including excess production, the cooling of the Greek yogurt craze, the emergence of "almond milk" and trade sanctions against Russia."

And, it's garnered the attention of governmental leaders.  President Trump blames Canada - he's quoted in the Buffalo article as saying: "Canada ... what they've done to our dairy farm workers is a disgrace. It's a disgrace," adding, "Rules, regulations, different things have changed, and our farmers in Wisconsin and New York State are being put out of business." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in response, "Let's not pretend that we're in a global free market when it comes to agriculture...Every country protects, for good reason, its agricultural industries."  Seems that officials in Canada have taken steps to lower milk prices, choking out a portion of the market for American milk.  Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a rare moment of agreement, are hoping to persuade or pressure Canada to change its policies.

But, that's only a piece of the puzzle - the New York Post reported last year that during the first eight months of 2016, 43 million gallons of milk had been discarded.  Historically, the report said:

The glut is the result of a price spike in 2014, which persuaded farmers to bring more dairy cows on line, the [Wall Steet] Journal reported.

Milk cows have increased by 40,000 this year, and each one is producing 1.4 percent more milk than a year ago, according to the US Dept. of Agriculture.

Price have declined 33 percent since 2014, but the market got especially challenging this spring, said Chris Galen, a spokesman for the National Milk Producers Federation.

So, certainly we can be concerned about the plight of farmers in the dairy industry who are facing reductions in their ability to sell product at a reasonable price, which in turn adversely affects their ability to provide for their families.

But, the milk article caught my attention when it ran in the Montgomery Advertiser for another reason.  The abundance of milk can point to a spiritual analogy or lesson.  The Bible refers to types of teaching as "milk" and "meat."  You might describe "milk" as the entry-level material - good to know, essential for salvation.  But, the "meat" of the word is what the writer of Hebrews refers to, as something we should desire - that would be considered good to grow.

I enjoy a good glass of milk, and we consume quite a bit of it at my house, especially when the kids are home, which is not often, since we now have a college graduate in our family and another who will be a college sophomore - so we see the evidence of their presence by the amount they consume.

But, the dairy element is just a section of an overall balanced diet.  If you drink milk all day, you miss other essential nutrients.  So it is with us spiritually - we have to move beyond basic teaching or basic spiritual food, in order to experience more of what the Lord has in store for us.  But, that's not to say we don't consume the milk of the Word:  1st Peter 2:2 says, " as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby..."

We can examine our spiritual diet and ascertain whether or not we are moving into challenging material - are we skimming the surface with our intake of the Word or are we digging deeper?  God has so much in store for us, and in partnership with the Holy Spirit, we can grow in Him as we study diligently and meditate regularly on God's truth.

Finally, I want to return to the phrase "too much milk in the world."  Can we say that about our lives individually or about the Church?  I think it's a fair question.  If the body of Christ is not moving into maturity, then we become vulnerable to influences that are not Biblical, we see our ability to speak boldly to diminish, and we can become weak in our witness for Christ.  If there's too much milk in the world, i.e., not enough rich teaching relative to the Word, we run the risk of not completely reflecting the character of our Savior.