On special occasions, the running group I attend gathers for a post-run tailgate. Trunks are popped open and lawn chairs spaced out. Short, but heartfelt speeches are made before plastic cups are raised in a toast. These occasions delightfully off-set any stressful week.
The tailgate would NOT be complete without a trunk full of food. There is no timidity when it comes to bringing treats. The group even have a star baker, Kim, who blows everyone away with her dedication and talent. Her treats generously accommodates the group’s dietary restrictions such as dairy and gluten exclusions. On this particular night, she brought homemade GLUTEN & DAIRY FREE Blueberry Oat Bars! Others provided fruit, honey roasted nuts, cookies, candy and brownies.
The Blueberry Bars were a HUGE hit but I also noticed a lot of praise for a tray of homemade brownies. They were gooey on the inside with a mysterious crunch. No, the brownies were not laced with psychotropic drugs. But we all knew Kim brought the Blueberry bars, so the question had to be asked, “Who made the brownies?”
No one around me really knew. How bizarre! The brownies were great, yes, but boy did it get silent when we couldn’t figure out who nestled them in with our other snacks. Jokes were made to ease the uncertainty. This odd shift of mood had me thinking. I know and trust my friends to keep me safe from any harm. Outside the safety net of friends, how often do I just accept any old tray of trunk brownies?
I don’t mean letting strangers lure me to their car with the promise of baked goods. I mean, accepting (and internalizing) the daily messages I receive from the world around me. A lot of times I don’t feel like I measure up. As a Christian I know society moves and shifts facts and opinions rather rapidly. Society says wear this, buy that, don’t miss out, weigh less, hide that truth, pick a side, etc, etc. These brownies that many (including myself), gobble up are pretty appetizing. Biblical wisdom, on the other hand, has lasted century to century, yet remains just as sweet to this day.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
— Matthew 7:13–14, NIV
When choosing a difficult, and unpoplar narrow gate versus painful destruction the choice is easy. The narrow gate may take some critical thinking to get through. Pressing pause in real-life, especially when it comes to media, would allow me to move beyond re-actively consuming it. The time I spend worrying about the requirements to blend in with those taking the wide gate could be better spent analyzing the invitation. So, how else can I ask, “who made the brownies?”
- Who wrote this information?
- How did this get my attention?
- Why does their opinion matter?
- How credible is this?
- Can I even trust this source?
- Who is benefiting from this message?
We eventually did uncover our mystery baker, a man in our group who is on his way to raising over $30,000 for St. Judes. Determining the source of the brownies, we all made sure to shower their creator with compliments, (in hopes he would bring more next time).
Everyday messages, while appealing and appetizing, have the potential to harm and manipulate. Instead of living in fear of bumping my way through the wide gate, I wish to spend more time examining how to enter the narrow gate. Especially when I know the narrow gate ends with some pretty awesome Caramel Crunch Brownies.
