To Mato or Not To Mato by Phil

As Summer is slowly winding down, it's a great time to reflect on all the things the season brings - heat, humidity, annoying insects, heat, sunburn, heat... OK, so summer is not exactly my favorite season. But there is one thing that makes all the sweaty, sticky discomfort endurable - home grown tomatoes!!!!!!

I'm not talking about those puny little grape-looking things you put on salads. I'm talking fist-sized, deep red, thin-skinned, meaty chunks of juicy goodness. Peel 'em, slice 'em, salt 'em and let me at 'em. I have been known to eat a bowl for breakfast, lunch, dinner and the occasional between meal snack. In case you hadn't guessed, I LOVE tomatoes!

Tomatoes have a recorded history stretching back before Christ and may have originally been cultivated by the Aztecs. Spanish conquistadors brought the plants back to Europe and they eventually made their way to the good ole US of A. In the early days of our country, tomatoes were grown mostly as ornamental plants because people thought they were poisonous! (Apparently many European aristocrats died after eating tomatoes. Come to find out, the acid from the tomatoes soaked into their fancy pewter plates releasing lead causing lead poisoning.)

The role of the tomato in modern American cuisine can be traced to an act of bravery by an often overlooked patriot - horticulturist Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson. To put an end to the slanderous attack on the wholesome goodness of tomatoes, Col. Johnson offered to publicly eat one on the courthouse steps in Salem, NJ. That morning in 1820, around 2,000 people packed the town square to behold this awesome feat. At noon, Johnson gave a little speech, then lifted a ripe tomato high in the air. The Salem County Historical Society records, "There was not a sound as the Col. dramatically brought the tomato to his lips and took a bite. A woman in the crowd screamed and fainted but no one paid her any attention; they were all watching Col. Johnson as he took one bite after another. ... He raised both his arms, and again bit into one and then the other. The crowd cheered and the firemen's band blared a song. ... 'He's done it', they shouted. 'He's still alive.'"

So many of our forefathers and foremothers missed out on the joyful taste of the tomato because they believed a poisonous lie. Sure, it sounded like factual news and society at large accepted it, but it was just not true. Today we have more sources of news than ever before, but we still only have one source of ultimate truth - God's Holy Scripture. "Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." - Proverbs 30:5, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;" - Psalm 19:7, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness," - 2 Timothy 3:16

So you may ask, if the tomato is obviously one of God's greatest creations, is it mentioned in the Bible? Maybe not directly, but...

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." - Philippians 4:8

Sounds to me like tomatoes fit that list pretty well, and I'm not going to stop at just thinking about them... I'm going to go have a bowl!

"Taste and see that the Lord is good" - Psalm 34:8​
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Pass the salt,
Phil and Pam

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