The Impossible Christian

I had the “Impossible Burger” at yet another area fast food restaurant that will not pay me to mention their name.  (What’s up with that?)  Supposedly these burgers are so good that you will think it is “impossible” that they are meatless.  And I have to say, they are as good as advertised.  I took a bite of the patty by itself, and I ate the entire burger.  It was by no means the best burger I’ve ever had (pretty dry), but I did not feel like I was eating “healthy.”

And that’s a good thing, because I wasn’t.

The Impossible Burger weighs in at a “whopping” (pardon the pun) 630 calories.  The regular burger, for which this is supposedly a healthy replacement, is 660 calories.  In both cases, about half of the calories come from fat.  That’s your tipoff.  They know the plant-based meat substitute tastes like cardboard.  So they add fat.  Cardboard plus fat equals fast food burger patty.

If you want to eat less cholesterol, or if you don’t like the idea of cows being clubbed in the head so you can have a cheap lunch, the Impossible Burger may be for you.  For me, I’ll go back to eating good food when I care about my health and junk food when I don’t.

I’ve been on this planet for 53 years now, and I can tell you with some confidence — things that seem “too good to be true” generally are.  You can have your cake and eat it, too; however, you have to do it in that order, and you will need to do a ridiculous number of jumping jacks to work it off.  Good, quick fixes are rarely cheap; good, cheap fixes are rarely quick; and quick, cheap fixes are never good.  

And yet we continue to act like the most important thing in the world — our relationship with God — works precisely the opposite way.  We imagine that we can invest stingily over a short period of time and expect good, or at least good enough, results.

It won’t work.  And don’t take my word for it; hear the apostle Paul — “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6).  And this principle works whether our “bountiful” sowing is to the flesh or to the spirit; again, hear Paul’s words — “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8).

You can’t train yourself in the things of God by giving Him one hour a week.  You can, on the other hand, train yourself in the things of the world by giving the world 167 hours a week.

You can’t build relationships with brethren by staying at home, waiting for the phone to ring.  You can, on the other hand, build relationships with actors, sports teams and civic organizations by investing heavily, publicly, loudly, and at considerable cost — but not grow closer to Jesus in so doing.

Maximum results do not come from minimal effort.  It’s impossible. 

So choose.  Do you want nutritious, or do you want indulgent?  Do you want productive, or do you want convenient?  Do you want useful, or do you want comfortable?

The good news is, you can find plenty of short-term satisfaction (at least in the things of Jesus) by choosing the healthy option.  It likely won’t be the kind of satisfaction you are used to getting from the world.  But then, you signed on for leaving the world when you came to Jesus in the first place, right?