The National Day Calendar only list three celebrations for today. Why there is a need for three is a mystery because they essentially celebrate the same thing. Today is National Hamburger, Beef Burger, and Brisket Day. What’s the difference between the three?
Brisket “comes from the breast or lower chest area of the cow. More specifically, it’s the pectoral muscle located just above the front legs and below the chuck primal cut. On a steer, there are two whole briskets – one on each side of the animal. Brisket is known as a tough, working muscle because it supports much of the cow’s body weight. But when cooked low and slow, it transforms into a tender, mouthwatering centerpiece of many memorable barbecue meals.”1
Beef burgers are 100% beef and are typically a blend of trimmings and cuts from multiple parts of the cow… When a beef carcass is broken down, premium cuts like ribeyes and tenderloins are sold whole. The remaining trimmings, along with less tender cuts, are sent to the grinder. The most common source cuts are chuck (the shoulder area), round (the rear leg), and sirloin (the lower back). Each contributes a different balance of flavor and fat. Chuck is the workhorse of the burger world. It has a rich, beefy flavor and enough intramuscular fat to keep a patty juicy. When you see “ground chuck” on a label, the meat came exclusively from the chuck primal. Ground round and ground sirloin are leaner options sourced from their respective cuts. Plain “ground beef,” however, can be a mix of trimmings from anywhere on the carcass. This is why ground beef tends to be the least expensive option: it gives processors the most flexibility.”2
Hamburger is mostly meat with other additives added in for binding the meat and allowing it to be shaped into those perfect circles.
Bottom line to it – we like our meat! The vast majority of us have a carnivore spirit and love the summer cookouts. Hearing burgers and other meat products sizzling, smelling the aromas across the neighbor’s fence or in the campground, causes warm smiles to spread across our faces. These are wonderful comfort foods that we can confidently say have been
provided by God Himself. Thank you, Lord!!
1 Timothy 4:1-5 says, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (2) Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; (3) Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. (4) For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: (5) For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”
Do you receive it with thanksgiving? I do! We thank the Lord for the provisions, the hands that prepared it, and we ask Him to bless it to our bodies.
Is there ever a time to say no to the burgers? Absolutely and I can think of two. First, there may be some who cannot eat meat due to health issues. For some reason, beef doesn’t agree with your system. Second, we have to pass on the meat if our eating would cause spiritual offense. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 8:13, “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.”
This might seem like a non-issue in America. However, imagine what it might be like being a missionary to or entertaining a guest from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, or Bhutan. Hinduism is the religion of the land, a religion that worships Gau Mata – Mother Cow. It is believed that a person can be reincarnated as a cow, therefore to eat a cow is tantamount to eating a deity or a relative.
You have liberty to eat your burger, anytime, anywhere. Would it be a responsible exercise of that liberty to do it around someone from these countries? Even the person newly saved out of Hinduism is going to struggle for a while as they shed the old ways and beliefs that have been ingrained and indoctrinated since infancy.
Burgers are just one of many things that could cause offense to someone else. As a child of God, we need to be willing to set aside something that is good and right – even something as delicious as a grilled burger with pepper jack and cheddar cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion, 
and BBQ sauce, swaddled between two fluffy buns.
I’m not asking a lot. This is something coming directly from the Lord. But when I think of what He gave up to save my soul, a burger really isn’t that much to sacrifice if need be.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8)
1https://tatnuckmeatandsea.com/fresh-meat/beef/where-does-beef-brisket-come-from/
2https://scienceinsights.org/where-does-burger-meat-come-from-and-whats-in-it/
Images are taken from https://pixabay.com/, https://www.pexels.com/, or https://unsplash.com/images or created in Windows Copilot. According to the websites, they are Royalty Free and free to be used for our purposes.
