… so that nothing is wasted.” (John 6:12)
Though he could miraculously produce it in abundance, “Jesus carefully avoided wasting food.” (Awake!, August 22, 2002, page 10) Thus, after a feeding, he instructed his disciples to gather up not only leftover breads but even “fragments” from the dirty ground. What does that mean for Christians today?
”Jesus Christ provides the perfect model to follow.” (The Watchtower, September 1, 1993, page 11) Hence we should gather up the leftover crumbs from the floor after every meal, “so that nothing is wasted.” (John 6:12) Only “unappreciative and thoughtless … [people] who are self-centered and governed by fads and trivial likes and dislikes” would “waste … food.” – Awake!, August 22, 2002, page 7.
Regarding crumbs and fragments, Jesus’ model leaves no doubt. But what “if food looks or smells suspicious?” Note that Jehovah says through his channel of communication: “Food-borne illness often comes and goes without severe consequences.” Indeed food poisoning “can be fatal” sometimes, but for such cases there is always “the wonderful resurrection hope.” – Awake!, November 22, 1995, page 22; The Watchtower, July 15, 1993, page 28.
“We Christians should be aware that tests of faith may be many and varied.” (The Watchtower, May 15, 1998, page 14) The “faithful and discreet slave” warns us against such a test: “Imagine that you are about to eat a tasty piece of fruit but then notice that a part of it is rotten. What will you do? Well, you could eat the entire fruit, even the bad part; you could throw away the entire fruit, including the bad part; or you could cut the bad part out of the fruit and enjoy the good part. What choice will you make?” (“Keep Yourselves in God’s Love”, page 62) Indeed, “what choice will you make” if you want to please God?
The Alternative Daily Text 