We have a cricket in the house. Most of the time we don’t even notice it, but when the TV is turned off and it gets quiet, we hear that single cricket calling for his girlfriend. He calls over and over, but never gets an answer, because he’s the only cricket inside the house.
The Chinese have kept crickets as pets since the 12th century and build tiny houses for their pet crickets. They don’t live very long, just a few months. The Chinese used to have cricket fights, with betting and fierce competition.
The cricket in my house is not my pet. In fact, today I wondered if he’s passed away, since I haven’t heard him. I’m pretty sure he didn’t find his girlfriend cricket either. My cat frequently sees an insect and chases it around the house, so maybe she chased him until she caught him and ate him.
Lots of people in foreign countries eat bugs, but that’s one thing I’ve never had any interest in eating. No chocolate-covered ants for me. No salted caterpillars. No grub worms. And absolutely no crickets or grasshoppers.
Crickets are only spoken of in the Bible in one place, and that is to say that crickets are okay to eat, approved by God. “Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper.” Leviticus 11:22 NIV. One version interprets this to say, “But you can eat some of these, namely, those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground: all locusts, katydids, crickets, and grasshoppers.” The Message Bible.
God is interested in our diet, what we eat, what is good for us, and what is not good. God watches over us, and tells us, “If you have to, you can eat a locust, katydid, cricket, or grasshoppers—they are all okay to eat, but dark chocolate is good for you too, so it’s alright if you just skip the insects, and eat the chocolate.”
Lavon Hightower Lewis