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I love spicy food. Other than the raw Scottish bonnet pepper my wife gave me a year ago (See The Scottish Bonnet!), the spicier the better. In fact, when I ask for maximum spice at a restaurant, the servers usually try to discourage me, saying that only natives can tolerate that level of spice. Well they haven't ever done a spice contest with me!
My wife and I went out to dinner at a local Thai restaurant the other night, and my eyes were immediately drawn to the curries. I finally decided on Mango curry, and when we ordered, I asked for maximum spice. My wife ordered a peanut curry, but asked them to make hers mild-moderate...
We both loved our dinners. My wife said hers was probably more "moderate" than "mild", and as such, it was a bit spicier than she is used to; nonetheless, she finished it all and declared it "very good". I did notice that the level of liquid in her water glass dropped significantly as she ate her meal... My dinner was just right for spiciness, and I ate every last crumb. Oh, and I never touched my water cup!
My memory isn't what it should be, and if you ask me five minutes after eating what I had, I will have already forgotten. Later that evening, however, my wife asked me if I had enjoyed my dinner. My eyes lit up, and I said, "Good and spicy!" The next morning, when talking with my son, my eyes lit up again, as I said, "it was spicy. Delicious!" And I proceeded to make several dinner-related comments throughout the course of our 45 minute conversation.
Why can't all cooks add adequate spice to their food?
What about our Christian witness? Would it be more "appetizing" as well, if we were to add a bit of "spice" to our presentation?
You know what I mean. We've all sat through tasteless sermons where we can’t help but nod off, and I hope that you've also experienced "spicy" sermons: The kind that make you sit on the edge of your chairs, drinking in every word.
And when we are asked to give a reason behind the hope that we have (See 1 Peter 3:15), is our response "bland", lacking in enthusiasm, leaving people wondering if we really have any hope at all? Or is our response "spicy"? Full of excitement?
Not everyone will go to church to hear a sermon, however; and a lot of witnessing happens when we show love to one another. In fact, the “love” spice is probably the most powerful of them all: "If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:3 NIV). When we listen to people, when we care, when we are God's hands and feet, encouraging one another, we are adding the “love spice” to our witnessing. Yet I would suspect that most of us have also endured "tasteless" witnessing here as well! Good deeds done quickly, without love. Things done for people only because we can't see how to get out of it. Refusing to help the homeless because they might just "use our gifts for drugs"... What if all of our deeds were "spicy"? Full of the love that is manifested in kindness, compassion, forgiveness and acceptance?
Jesus has some pretty harsh things to say about "bland" Christians: "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot…So, because you are lukewarm…I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:15-16 NIV). We need to be on fire for Christ, living our lives with so much “spice” that the unsaved world begins to ask questions. We need to show love, give encouragement, lend a helping hand, and when the door opens to do so, we need to tell others about our God.
But back to my spicy food example... I'm pretty sure that my wife is happy not all cooks use so much spice... She's come a long way, but she still doesn’t come near tolerating my spice level! Sometimes I think those of us who are on fire for Jesus can be a bit "too spicy" for some people as well! Take an agnostic, for example, that you have been praying for. It seems that your initial sharing has resulted in perked interest, so you jump in and let your joy and enthusiasm run wild! So often, however, you see those agnostics pulling back and changing the topic...
The point is, while being on fire for Christ, we must be careful of the "spice" tolerance of those we are interacting with! Sometimes we need to "tone it down" a tiny bit so as to not scare them off!
How can we know the difference? We do want to be "spicy" after all!
Only God's Spirit can reveal this to us. Every time we reach out to help someone, every time we open our mouths to witness, we need to pray and ask for the Holy Spirit to give us the right words to say and the right actions to do: "… do not worry about … what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” (Luke 12:11-12 NIV). We need to be willing to say, "Lord, may only Your words come out of my mouth! May all of my actions be powered by You!" When we do that, we will come across with just the right amount of "spice"! Those we are interacting with will be left with a taste of God's goodness on their tongues, enough that they hunger for more!
And the next time you order Thai curry, be sure to take the maximum amount of spice that you can tolerate! You won't be sorry!
Inspired by Rob Chaffart
Founder, Answers2Prayer Ministries
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