Last Friday, in “Christmas Baking, Part 1”, we saw that when God asks us to step out of our comfort zones, He is there to equip and empower us to do the task at hand. And in the end, we, ourselves, will be blessed.

One motivating factor in helping my wife with the baking is, I admit, licking the mixing bowl. In all the years I’ve known her, she has always made a habit of sampling the unbaked items by tasting what is leftover in the mixing bowl. In the past, I scoffed at this, thinking in my mind how uncouth this particular habit is. This is because I was raised by a very prim and proper mother who never did anything that was even the least bit “uncouth”. I don’t think she ever saw my wife partaking in this particular activity, but had she ever witnessed this, she would have turned away in disgust. It’s interesting to see how much the way we were raised colours our future lives…

So if this is such an “uncouth” thing to do in my mind, why is it such a “motivating” factor? 

Because instead of “correcting” my wife and making her stop sampling what’s left in the bowls, she has influenced me to do the same! I admit that I was a bit hesitant the first time she handed me a scraper covered in cake batter and asked me if I wanted to lick it clean. I could almost feel my mom’s disdain. But it did look kind of good… And so I stuck out my tongue and tried a little bit. That’s when I learned how good raw batter tastes, and that one little bit soon ended up with me licking the entire scraper. She then handed me the mixing bowl, and I cleaned that out as well! 

There are a couple of lessons that come to my mind as I consider this new “habit” of tasting the raw dough. The first thing is I have to wonder how many other innocent blessings in life I have passed up because I simply didn’t think it was “right” to do so. For example, I so often feel in my spirit the urge to go and speak to someone, some total stranger. Yet society teaches us that we shouldn’t meddle in someone else’s business. They might not want our help. They might not even want our friendly greeting. And so I have passed up numerous opportunities to bless other people. And in the end, I’ve also robbed myself of the blessing I would have received from blessing others! 

Let’s resolve together to not let our pre-conceived ideas stop us from responding to the Holy Spirit’s nudgings. Instead, let’s embrace the opportunity to be a blessing – and to be blessed as well! Remember: “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25 NIV)!

The second lesson that comes to mind is based upon my observation of just how easy it was for me to fall into this particular habit. It only took a little prodding from my wife to make me forget – or ignore – years of indoctrination that this wasn’t a “couth” thing to do. Just that first taste was all it took, and I now find myself addicted to raw dough… 

It is the same with temptation, isn’t it? So often it only takes a little prodding to make us forget our convictions. After all, others are doing it! What can be so wrong with it? And so we are tempted to take that very first step, to “try” the sin; and soon we find ourselves sliding down the slippery slope into full-blown, purposeful sin. 

That’s how patterns of sin begin in our lives: With just one tiny “taste”. This is why the Bible urges us to, “Be alert and of sober mind.” (1 Peter 5:8a NIV). We must be vigilant because, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8b NIV) Rather than allowing ourselves to take that first step, we must, “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:9 NIV)

I have made a resolution: I will continue to bake with my wife because although it pushes me out of my comfort zone, it is a rewarding experience. And I’m going to continue to lick the scraper and the mixing bowl, for although my mom wouldn’t have approved, it is an innocent pleasure. I am also going to resolve to follow the nudgings of the Holy Spirit and not turn away in disdain when God pushes me out of my comfort zone; and I’m going to remember how easily I can also “slide” into sin!

How about you?

Inspired by Rob Chaffart
Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries