There was also a story like this: There was a great old man and a seer with a mind, and it happened that once he was sitting at the table with several brothers and when they were eating, the old man remembered with the spirit and saw that some were eating honey, others bread, and others dung.
And he wondered and prayed to God, saying:
-Lord, reveal to me this secret, that the same dishes being put on the table in front of everyone, when they eat they look so changed.
And a voice came to him from above, saying:
-Those who eat honey are those who sit at the table with fear, trembling and spiritual joy and pray incessantly and their prayer rises to God like incense. Those who eat bread are those who give thanks for the sharing of what God has given, and those who eat dung are those who grumble and say: This is good, this is rotten.
So we don’t have to say these things or count like that, but rather glorify God and praise Him, so that the word spoken by the Apostle may be fulfilled: Whether you eat, whether you drink, or whatever else you do, do all to the glory of God.
Excerpt from the Egyptian Patericon.
